Tuesday briefing: Convicted terrorists to face polygraph tests

Top story: ‘Admission of failure’ in fight against terrorism

Good morning and welcome to this Tuesday briefing with Alison Rourke.

A raft of new measures is being drawn up to monitor convicted terrorists in the community, in the wake of the December’s London Bridge attack. Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist was out on licence when he murdered two people in Fishmongers’ Hall, in central London before he was shot dead by police. The new measures will include lie-detector tests, a doubling of counter-terrorism specialised probation officers and closer monitoring and reporting requirements including polygraph tests, the Home Office and Ministry of Justice said in a joint announcement. An independent review of the way different agencies including the police, the probation service and the security services investigate, monitor and manage terrorist offenders will also be launched. Critics say the overhaul is too little, too late: “After 10 years in government, a major overhaul now is actually an admission of failure,” Diane Abbott says. She said cuts to policing had undermined the fight against terrorism.

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Trump impeachment – The long-awaited trial of the president will kick off today at around 6pm UK time. Late last night the Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, outlined his proposals for a speedy trial and, he hopes, acquittal, with no guarantees about witnesses or new evidence. Democrats, who demanded votes on witnesses to be held straight away, branded McConnell’s proposals a “national disgrace”. Senators will debate the rules of the trial when they convene. Trump won’t be there, as he is scheduled to give a key-note address at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The Guardian will have comprehensive coverage of the trial, including a live blog, details of the articles of impeachment, the key senators who could cross the floor, profiles of McConnell and one of Trump’s other key backers in the chamber, Lindsey Graham, who has promised not to “pretend to be a fair juror”.

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‘Dangerous moment’ – Conservative MPs have seized on Tony Hall’s departure as the BBC’s director general in the summer to call for an overhaul of funding and the licence fee. The former culture secretary, John Whittingdale called for a debate on the broadcaster’s funding at its 2022 mid-term review. He wants Hall’s successor to consider how the BBC can compete in the Netflix era. The combination of an unfriendly government and an ageing audience will likely give Hall’s successor sleepless nights. The mid-term review is likely to be used to discuss both the abolition of the license fee and decriminalisation of non-payment. Since Christmas, the former chair of Ofcom Patricia Hodgson has called for a subscription model to be introduced.

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‘I am not a spy’ – The British-Australian academic, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who is being held in prison in Iran, claims Tehran tried to recruit her as a spy in exchange for her release. In a letter to her “case manager” that was smuggled out of prison, the Cambridge-educated academic wrote: “Please accept this letter as an official and definitive rejection of your offer to me to work with the intelligence branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.” She said she could not be persuaded under any circumstances to change her mind. “I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest to work for a spying organisation in any country. When I leave Iran, I want to be a free woman and live a free life, not under the shadow of extortion and threats,” the letter said.

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Sugar tax – Alcopops have the equivalent of four doughnuts-worth of sugar, according to Queen Mary University experts in London, and should be subject to the sugary drinks tax. Action on Sugar at the university found that the pre-mixed drinks sold in supermarkets contain up to nine teaspoons of sugar in just 250ml. “If consumers knew how much sugar was really in these drinks, would they still happily choose to drink their way to tooth decay, obesity and type 2 diabetes?” asked Katherine Jenner, the group’s campaign director. Of 154 drinks the group surveyed in stores, just 14 (9%) had information on sugar on the pack and only 63 (41%) had any form of nutritional information.

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Earth sandwich – Two men have created a sandwich with 12,724 km of the planet as its filling. New Zealander Etienne Naude, 19, placed his slice of white bread on an Auckland beach, while a Spanish man who responded to Naude’s callout on Reddit, placed his slice on exactly the opposite site of the world. “We made sure to get the exact location with Google Maps, to get us within a few metres range, and then we used the actual image data on Google Maps to pinpoint ourselves even closer than that,” Naude, a computer science student, said. Bon appétit.

Today in Focus podcast

Today in Focus podcast: The trial of Harvey Weinstein – Ed Pilkington looks ahead to Weinstein’s court battle where he faces charges of rape and sexual assault, which he denies. And Jamie Grierson on why counter-terror police have listed Extinction Rebellion as a “key threat”.

Lunchtime read: actor Jonathan Pryce on being a ‘newcomer’ at 72

Jonathan Pryce’s best-actor Oscar nomination has been a long time coming. “Best newcomer,” he says ruefully. “Although I already do have a best newcomer award. It was for Breaking Glass. Back in 1980.” His best actor nomination for his role in Netflix drama The Two Popes has won him accolades and his phone has barely stopped buzzing with congratulations, requests and demands on his time. It’s a change for the man who has spent much of his career as the quiet man of British acting; the coiled spring in the works, unobtrusive, precise and usually critical, whether he is playing a Bond villain on screen or Shylock on stage; Cardinal Wolsey in Wolf Hall or the High Sparrow in Game of Thrones. Like Pope Francis, perhaps, he is the connoisseur’s choice, the progressive dark horse, writes Xan Brookes.

Sport

Johanna Konta was hurried out of the Australian Open on day two when the Tunisian world No 78, Ons Jabeur, dominated the British No 1 almost from start to finish to win in straight sets. In rugby, Eddie Jones will hold clear-the-air talks with his England squad to try to reduce the impact of the Saracens salary cap furore on the national team’s Six Nations prospects. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes the League Cup is a burden and should be dispensed with for the good of English football. Jonathan Wildon writes that Manchester United, who have just been well beaten by a Liverpool side 30 points ahead of them, are sleepwalking towards mediocrity. Jessica Judd has warned athletics “is dying a drug‑fuelled death” as the row over Mo Farah’s blood and urine samples rumbles on.

Business

Asian shares took a sudden turn for the worse today as mounting concerns about a new strain of coronavirus in China sent a ripple of risk aversion through markets. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 1% and Hong Kong’s index 2%. Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.8% and Shanghai blue chips 1.5%, with airlines under pressure. China’s yuan was down nearly 0.5% and on track for its worst day in a month, while airline and travel stocks fell across the region. “Because of Chinese New Year, millions of people will make a move to their hometown across China which is making the whole situation uncontrollable,” said Margaret Yang, an analyst at brokerage CMC Markets in Singapore, referring to the Chinese holiday period which formally begins on Friday. “The selloff is just the beginning, we will see more in days to come.” The FTSE 100 is set to open about 0.5% lower.

The pound is buying €1.172 and $1.301.

The papers

The Guardian splashes today on Tony Hall’s departure from the BBC’s top job: “‘Perilous times ahead’ for BBC as director general says he will quit”. The FT has “Downbeat IMF outlook diverts Davos focus from climate goals”. The Times leads on “Academic reveals ordeal in Iranian jail”. The Telegraph has “Terrorists to be denied early release from prison”.

The tabloids continue to give plenty of coverage to royal dramas. The Sun splashes with a picture of “beaming” Meghan and her son Archie, with the headline “The joy of Sussex”. The Daily Mail pictures another royal, Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, and the headline “‘Royal Peter’ for hire … in China”. The Mirror leads with a story on convicted murderer, Jeremy Bamber, who says he could not have killed five members of his family in 1985 : “Bamber: new evidence gives me alibi” is the headline. The Express leads on “Anger as EU drags feet over trade talks”, alongside a picture of William and Kate with the heading “It’s back to business”.

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