Top story: Call to tackle social causes of extremism

Hello, Warren Murray bringing you the stories that count this morning.

The UK’s safety and security would suffer from a no-deal Brexit with the loss of key crime-fighting tools – and no amount of planning and preparation can erase the risk, Neil Basu, Britain’s head of counter-terrorism, has warned. “We can make them [the damaging effects] less, but they would be slower systems. Those systems and tools were developed in the EU for very good reason. They were very good. We had just signed up to biometric sharing. In a no-deal we’d lose all that. We’d have to renegotiate it.”

Basu has told the Guardian that the police and security services are no longer enough to defeat violent extremism and the UK must instead improve community cohesion, social mobility and education. The Scotland Yard assistant commissioner said up to 80% of those who wanted to attack the UK were British-born or raised. Both Islamist and extreme rightwing terrorists have continued to recruit Britons, despite efforts to thwart them, with violent nationalism fuelled by the Brexit vote. “I want good academics, good sociologists, good criminologists … to be telling us exactly why that is. It might be everything from high anxiety, to lack of confidence, lack of education, things that may have happened to them when they are young, bullying, racism, bigotry, lack of opportunity, early experiences with law enforcement even, domestic violence.”

‘Oppressive language is violence’ – Toni Morrison, who chronicled the African American experience in fiction over five decades, has died aged 88. Morrison first came to prominence as an acclaimed editor and then with novels such as The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved. Her career garnered honours including the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, the Légion d’Honneur and a Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to her in 2012 by her friend Barack Obama.

Play Video 2:18 Toni Morrison's powerful words on racism - video

In words that resonate in these times, Morrison in her 1993 Nobel acceptance speech spelled out the dangers of “oppressive language [that] does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge”. Leading authors have offered tributes: among them, Ben Okri, Alice Walker and Bonnie Greer, the latter writing: “Like her equal, Whitman, she cannot be imitated.”

Midweek catch-up

> Madagascar police have found a body believed to be that of a Cambridge University student who fell from a plane. The pilot has said Alana Cutland, 19, opened the door and jumped out. It has been reported she was unwell.

> Canadian police say they have found items on a river bank in Manitoba that are “directly linked” to Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, the suspects in a triple murder case who have been on the run for nearly three weeks.

> The founder of the extremist 8chan website, where mass shootings are glorified, has lashed out over its banning by internet hosts. It is run by Jim Watkins, a US military veteran and sometime internet pornographer who lives in the Philippines.

> The Philippines has declared a national epidemic of dengue fever after more than 600 deaths this year. The country has recorded 146,062 cases from January to July.

> No more sniggering over suggestive beer names and retro images of buxom women at the Great British Beer Festival. The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has banned them from this year – because women drink beer too and, well, this is 2019.

Britain unplugged – The UK risks being left behind in Europe’s home battery boom because of a tax hike on solar battery systems, according to a report. The energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie predicts that by 2024, annual home battery installations across Europe could total more than 500MW, the equivalent of building a new gas-fired power plant every year. But it will be more difficult for UK households to access the potential of low-cost renewable energy after a VAT increase on solar batteries installed from October – as well as Britain’s “unfavourable” policy framework”, says the report. The government has blamed EU rules for the VAT change, a claim disputed by Molly Scott Cato, a Green MEP for South West England.

‘Tax trap’ tamed – NHS pension rules blamed for deterring senior doctors and nurses from working additional shifts for fear of hefty tax bills are to be overhauled. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the move would ensure senior clinicians in England and Wales fully benefited from any extra work they took on. However, some hospital doctors are warning the NHS is already facing “a full-blown winter meltdown” as a result of the crisis caused by the pension rules. Rule changes introduced in 2016 meant rising numbers of consultants and other senior staff were facing unexpected tax bills linked to the value of their pensions. Operations and clinics were cancelled as NHS senior staff withdrew from working extra shifts that would put them in the pension penalty zone.

Stop it now – Scientists have come up with a defence against the menace of food-snatching seagulls: stare them out. Madeleine Goumas, a postgraduate researcher at Exeter University, ventured to Falmouth, St Ives, Newquay and other popular seaside spots. She placed a sealed bag of chips about an arm’s length away and timed when the seagulls swooped. According to her study in Biology Letters, they were less likely to approach food when she locked eyes with them. Dr Viola Ross-Smith, at the British Trust for Ornithology, backs this up based on years of her own work on seagulls. “They have dive-bombed me, screamed at me, regurgitated and defecated. It’s not glamorous work,” she said. “But in my experience, if you look at the gulls, they either stay on the ground and look back at you or back off.” Unclear whether it also works on rats, which have been recorded grazing the shelves of a Japanese grocer – leading to the store shutting its doors.

Play Video 0:37 Pack of rats descend on Tokyo convenience store – video

Today in Focus podcast: Cancer town

In Reserve, Louisiana, Oliver Laughland hears how a community is fighting for the right to a safe environment for their children, who face a risk of cancer 50 times higher than the national average. Plus Helen Pidd on the battle to save the dam at Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire.

Lunchtime read: ‘The plane is too heavy’

Booking a cheap flight can seem a good idea. But reality brings surprises. Such as one easyJet customer’s tweet claiming to show a woman on a flight from London to Geneva sitting on a row of seats without backs.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest All aboard? Readers talk about their budget flight experiences. Photograph: Narvikk/Getty Images

EasyJet pointed out that no one had actually sat in the damaged seat during the flight. However, plenty of passengers have their own nightmareish tales of low-cost flights …

Sport

Vic Marks warns that England’s bid to lift the gloom of the first Ashes Test loss will struggle further through a lack of in-form replacements. Perhaps Jofra Archer could ably fill a seamer’s spot and knock up a few runs as a bonus. Meanwhile, Australia coach Justin Langer is convinced the squad has a cunning plan which with to wrap up the series, possibly involving winning further Test matches. Tottenham are preparing a €70m (£64.4m) bid to buy the talented but inconsistent Paulo Dybala from Juventus. And speaking of Italian football’s “Old Lady”, Moise Kean speaks of his new start at Everton and the racist taunts he endured at Cagliari. Ben Te’o is a surprise omission from the England squad preparing to face Wales on Sunday, casting doubt on his place at the World Cup. The Tour de Pologne was suspended as riders paid tribute to Bjorg Lambrecht, who died after a crash on Monday. And the first jockey to win a race in Britain wearing a hijab is still taking in all the attention.

Business

The prospect of a prolonged US-China trade war kept Asian markets in the red overnight despite signs that Beijing was trying to keep the yuan higher in the wake of accusations that it weaponising its currency. Donald Trump also upped the ante by saying US farmers, who have been hit hard by retaliatory Chinese tariffs on their produce, could always rely on him to protect them against Beijing. The FTSE100 is set to fall a fraction at the resumption of trading this morning while the pound was flat at $1.216 and €1.085.

The papers

The Guardian dedicates about two-thirds of its front page to a magnificent portrait of Toni Morrison, whom the paper pays tribute to. Below the fold our main story is: “Greater social inclusion vital to fight extremism, says counter-terror chief”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Guardian front page, Wednesday 7 August 2019.

The Times leads with politics: “Labour and SNP hint at pact to oust Johnson”, as does the Express: “Boris tells EU: You must back down” and the i: “EU open to new deal – if PM drops red lines”.

The Telegraph reports: “‘Stifling’ rules on GP pensions to be relaxed”, the FT says: “Tencent strikes new note with deal to buy into Universal Music”, the Mirror has: “Lotto winner: I’ll use cash to look after my autistic kid brother”, the Sun reports on a “Miracle flab jab” that will reportedly help people lose 10lbs in four weeks, and the Mail says “Dementia is now the cause of one in eight deaths”.

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