Top story: More resignations feared after Rudd’s exit

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

Boris Johnson will meet the Irish PM, Leo Varadkar, today in an attempt to show his Brexit plan still has relevance. But his push won’t have been helped by the French government’s threat yesterday to veto a further extension due to the “worrying” lack of progress in the recent talks. “The British must tell us what they want,” the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said.

On Johnson’s return from Dublin, he’s expected to make a second bid to trigger a 15 October general election by asking MPs to support a motion tabled under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. On what looks set to be a very busy day, the backbench bill aimed at blocking no-deal Brexit is also expected to receive royal assent.

It will all take place in the shadow of Amber Rudd’s departure, with fears other Tory moderates may follow suit. The Guardian understands that since tendering her resignation, Rudd has been approached by three cabinet ministers and nine junior ministers who have expressed concern about the direction of the government.

With such high stakes, columnist John Harris asks why so many Brits are tuning out. “Away from Brexit and the Tory melodrama, I’ve found a mood of weariness and disconnection,” he writes after visiting the north-west.

You can stay up to date on all today’s developments on our politics live blog.

Worcester Park fire – Firefighters have been battling a major blaze in south-west London in the early hours of this morning, with a four-storey block of flats engulfed in flames in Worcester Park. A total of 20 fire engines and some 125 firefighters were sent to the scene in Sherbrooke Way at around 1.30am after the fire broke out and quickly spread. The London ambulance service was also on the scene but said no injuries had been reported.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Firefighters were called to a blaze in Worcester Park early this morning. Photograph: London Fire Brigade/PA

Taliban warning – More American lives will be lost in Afghanistan, the Taliban says, after Donald Trump cancelled peace talks that would have brought him face to face with the group’s leaders. Trump said he “called off” the talks after the Taliban claimed responsibility for a blast in Kabul that killed 12 people, including a US soldier, on Thursday. The revelation that talks were even taking place prompted anger from both Republicans and Democrats. “Never should leaders of a terrorist organisation that hasn’t renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country. NEVER. Full stop,” tweeted Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger. The Democratic presidential 2020 hopeful Amy Klobuchar said the president was approaching foreign policy like “some kind of gameshow”.

Carbon-neutral ‘industrial cluster’ – Energy companies have ignited multibillion-pound plans for the UK’s first carbon-neutral “industrial cluster” in the Humber. National Grid, Drax and Norway’s state energy company, Equinor, are leading a campaign to shrink the carbon footprint of Britain’s most polluting industrial zone by trialling world-leading technology to capture and store carbon emissions from factory and power plant flues before they enter the atmosphere.

MMR jabs – A group of leading GPs has called for the measles vaccination to be compulsory before children start primary school. In a letter to ministers, the four London GPs, who include a former government adviser on health policy, have urged the health secretary, Matt Hancock, and the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, to embrace the proposed change. Doing so would save lives and tackle dangerous “complacency” among parents who do not ensure that their child is fully immunised, they say.

India moon mission – The lander module from India’s failed moon mission has been located. The mission, known as Chandrayaan-2, was intended to study permanently shadowed moon craters that are thought to contain water deposits that were confirmed by the Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008. The Indian space agency said it lost touch with the Vikram lunar lander on Saturday as it made its final approach to the moon’s south pole to deploy a rover to search for signs of water.

Today in Focus podcast: Why do Dubai’s princesses keep trying to run away?

Ola Salem discusses the divorce case of Princess Haya, who fled to London. Why do royal women keep trying to escape the emirate? Plus John Marsden on the growing trend of toxic parenting.

Today in Focus Why do Dubai’s princesses keep trying to run away? Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen https://audio.guim.co.uk/2019/09/06-59458-190909TIF_dubai2.mp3 00:00:00 00:23:20

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Princess Haya leaves the high court in London on 30 July. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images

Lunchtime read: ‘My energy is back’

Men who feel tired or drained are often told it’s just a fact of life. But in some cases low testosterone is to blame, and there are treatments available. Robbie Williams is perhaps one of the best-known cases of low testosterone, after his wife, Ayda Field, revealed last year that when the singer had depression in his 30s, doctors found he had the testosterone levels of an 80-year-old man. Testosterone replacement therapy, apparently, made an instant difference to his energy levels, giving him a “new lease of life”. In the UK, it can come in the form of a cream or an injection, costing up to £28 a month. It is generally older men who are more commonly affected – as many as 10% of men aged 40 to 60 have low testosterone, increasing to one in five among those aged between 60 and 80.

Sport

Joe Root vowed to plough on as England’s Test captain as he processed the raw emotion of seeing his side’s bid to regain the Ashes evaporate with the 185-run defeat in Manchester. Afterwards, Australia captain Tim Paine offered a heavy nod towards “the best player we’ve seen”; it was always going to be tough for England given the genius of Steve Smith, but also the world’s best pace attack. In a men’s final that had pretty much everything, Rafael Nadal turned back the challenge of the dazzling young Russian Daniil Medvedev in five sets to win his fourth US Open. Serena Williams has lost her past four grand slam finals but still has the fire inside to win her 24th major, the same as the Australian Margaret Court. Jonny Wilkinson, England’s World Cup winning fly-half, has spoken about his battle with mental illness and why no amount of trophies can ease the pain of depression. And Lewis Hamilton has called for consistency in penalty decision-making in Formula One, after he felt Charles Leclerc had not obeyed the rules during his victory at the Italian Grand Prix.

Business

In more bad Brexit news, the accountancy giant KPMG has predicted a no-deal Brexit recession in 2020, forecasting the economy will shrink by 1.5%, taking business confidence down with it. Consumer spending, which has provided between 60% and 80% of growth in the economy over the last three years, would also be severely dented, KPMG said. The warning follows forecasts by the Bank of England and the Treasury’s independent forecasting unit, the Office for Budget Responsibility, which have alerted the government to the negative economic consequences of losing access to the EU single market and customs union overnight.

And British Airways pilots have gone in strike for the first time in a dispute over pay. Members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) have said they will walk out for 48 hours, with a further strike set for 27 September if the row remains unresolved.

The pound is buying $1.23 and €1.11.

The papers

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Photograph: The Guardian

Most of the papers lead on what promises to be another momentous day in the Brexit crisis. Given the complexity of the situation, it is not surprising there is considerable divergence on the top story of the day.

The Times splash headline says “Johnson in retreat over delay to Brexit” but the Telegraph reckons No 10 has a plan to thwart backbenchers’ no-deal bill, saying: “Johnson ‘can legally stop Brexit extension’”. The i prefers the justice secretary’s advice for the PM: “You do need to obey the law on Brexit, PM warned”. The Scotsman reports “Johnson will ‘test to the limit’ no-deal legislation”. The Guardian throws it forward to focus on Johnson’s trip to Ireland: “PM heads to Dublin amid fears of more resignations”, on which subject the FT says: “Varadkar plays down prospects of progress on Brexit deadlock”.

The Mail has its own Brexit scoop from an interview with cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, a remainer who nevertheless pledges to stay loyal to Johnson but demands of his approach to talks with the EU: “What is your plan, Boris?”. The Express proclaims “Britain is still backing Boris”.

The Sun says the PM will fight the no-deal bill in court but leads with: “Little Mix Jesy: my suicide bid”. The Mirror ignores Brexit completely on its fronts and instead leads with a story on freed killer Kenneth Noye: “Road rage killer Noye’s new love”.

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