Thursday morning UK news briefing: Rishi Sunak to extend energy bills relief for every household

Every household in the country will get extra money taken off their energy bills this autumn under a new cost of living support package to be unveiled by Rishi Sunak today.

The Chancellor is set to announce an increase to the £200 saving unveiled earlier in the year and scrap plans to make people pay back the amount over the coming years.

To fund the move, he will announce an oil and gas windfall tax that will see the amount companies pay linked to how much they invest.

The multi-billion pound package is also expected to include new "targeted" support for the poorest households, possibly through Universal Credit or extra help for pensioners.

Read how Boris Johnson and Mr Sunak hammered out the agreement as they faced growing pressure from voters to act.

PM denies partygate cover-up over 'Abba party'

Boris Johnson was forced to deny a cover-up after Sue Gray admitted abandoning her investigation into the Downing Street "Abba party", claiming it was not "appropriate or proportionate". The event on Nov 13 2020 was reportedly hosted by Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister's wife, to celebrate the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain. There were claims Abba's Winner Takes It All could be heard blasting out of the Number 11 flat. Ms Gray began investigating the event in December last year, and quickly established that there was alcohol on offer. But she shelved her inquiries in January, when Scotland Yard launched its own criminal investigation. Associate Editor Gordon Rayner analyses what happened and whether the "Abba party" was a boisterous celebration, or work meeting. Here is a look in detail at all the Downing Street parties and what Ms Gray's report says about them.

The Prime Minister insisted that it was his "duty" to attend certain Downing Street parties as senior Tories questioned whether he will win the next election. Mr Johnson said it was important for him to attend farewell events for officials and advisers at Number 10 to "thank them for their service", which he said was "one of the essential duties of leadership". On a dramatic day in Westminster, he faced calls to resign from senior backbenchers including those who broke ranks for the first time. Yet Madeline Grant sketches how the anti-climactic Sue Gray report has not cost Mr Johnson his job ... yet. Read the Telegraph View that it is time for strength and competence in Downing Street.

We can't help falling in love with jukebox epic Elvis

When Baz Luhrmann decided in 2013 to follow his adaptation of The Great Gatsby with an Elvis Presley biopic, the flamboyant Australian was either ahead of the curve or a good decade behind it. The rock biopic was lying fallow after the mid-noughties Oscar truffling of Walk the Line, Dreamgirls and Ray, and Bohemian Rhapsody's coming £750 million windfall was barely a rustle in the bushes. Yet when Elvis premiered at Cannes on Wednesday after almost a decade in the making, it felt bang on-trend. Yes, it is a bright and splashy jukebox epic with an irresistible central performance from Austin Butler. But Robbie Collin reveals how, in that signature Luhrmann way, it is the most impeccably styled and blaringly gaudy thing you'll see all year, and all the more fun for it.

Daily dose of Matt

• The Sue Gray report inspired Matt's latest cartoon. Also, see how you can buy one of Blower's Platinum Jubilee jigsaw puzzles.

Also in the news: Today's other headlines

'Fragmented' oversight | The social services responsible for looking after Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson worked from home and carried out "virtual visits" over FaceTime, a review has found. Both children were fatally abused throughout lockdown at the hands of their parents' partners and their cases prompted national outrage at the lack of safeguarding in place to prevent their deaths. Read how changing work arrangements led to a "lack of clarity" in social worker accountability.

• 'Mickey Mouse' degrees | Eight universities under investigation

• US guns | Firearms kill more children than car crashes and cancer

• Key gene | Memory loss in older age could be reversed by HIV drug

• Buy-to-let | Landlords face £23bn bill to meet Government eco rules

• Platinum Jubilee | Sussexes to join the Queen for service at St Paul's

Around the world: Do not appease Putin, says Truss

Liz Truss will today warn against appeasing Vladimir Putin and tell Western allies there can be no backsliding in ensuring Russia is defeated in its war against Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary will demand more weapons for Kyiv and more sanctions against Moscow in a speech to Bosnia and Herzegovina armed forces in Sarajevo's Army Hall. It comes as a carefully stage-managed hospital visit saw Vladimir Putin tell a Russian soldier wounded in Ukraine that he will "definitely" return to the front line once has recovered. Russia's assault on the Donbas continues but life goes on against the background of constant shelling. Roland Oliphant and Joe Barnes were given a crash course in survival there.

Comment and analysis

• Allister Heath | Tory Britain under threat from a hard-Left alliance

• Con Coughlin | Putin could be about to pull off a shock triumph

• William Sitwell | There's nothing wrong with drinking at work

• Michael Deacon | Gervais Netflix special exposes woke comedy's issue

• Reader letters | Buck stops with the PM for chaotic culture at No 10

Editor's choice

1. The real Prince Harry? | How Harry Styles won over Middle England

2. Rise of the post-nup | Why midlifers are renegotiating their marriages

3. M&S have upped their game | Here's what the fashion editors are buying

Sport briefing: Bath's bitter power struggle revealed

The tense power struggle that divided Bath during their worst Premiership season in history culminated with the sudden departure of chairman Ed Griffiths after just six months in the job, and the Telegraph can now reveal the bitter feud that has cast a dark shadow over the Recreation Ground. The former Saracens chief executive joined the club initially on a consultancy basis back in November to conduct a wide-ranging review with Bath suffering a disastrous season at the bottom of the table. Griffiths was then appointed on a full-term basis at the start of this year as chairman but read how the once-mighty club was split in two during a tug-of-war between two of its most prominent figures.

Business briefing: Chinese bid for chip giant in balance

Kwasi Kwarteng has ordered a detailed security review into the Chinese-backed takeover of Britain's biggest microchip plant in the clearest sign yet that the deal will be blocked. The Business Secretary has called in the sale of Newport Wafer Fab to Nexperia under new legislation that gives him the power to intervene on national security grounds. Mr Kwarteng has overruled the advice of two security investigations to order the review amid growing pressure from Tory backbenchers concerned the deal risks threatening Britain's interests. Nexperia's parent company is Wingtech, a Shanghai based tech company partly owned by the state. Read more on the deal and why there are concerns from MPs.

Tonight's dinner

Pasta shells with lemon ricotta and spinach | This creamy, zesty pasta is perfect for a midweek fix. View the recipe and try our Cookbook newsletter for more ideas.

Travel: Secret corner of Sicily attracting celebrities

At the southern tip of Sicily, where the Mediterranean flows into the crystal blues of the Ionian Sea, you will find Portopalo di Capo Passero. The commune was once best known for its sprawling fields of tomatoes (the aromatic pachino datterini being the queen of these fruits), its wild coves, its baroque architecture and a certain sleepy ambience. Today, you might also find a rock legend. Read why Mick Jagger is among the stars snapping up property in the tucked-away region of the island.

And finally... for this morning's downtime

Cancer revolution | A space-age smoking scalpel is just one leap forward on show at the Science Museum. Harry de Quetteville sees how advances like the iKnife may transform cancer treatment.