📰 | NEWS DUMP: Your Roundup Of Important Happenings This Week

Good Afternoon,

We have been gone for a while but now we are back! Has much been happening since we’ve been gone?

Let’s get into this week’s news round

• Ben Wallace rules out PM bid and is 'leaning' towards Johnson // Defence Secretary Ben Wallace rules himself out of the Tory leadership race but says he is currently "leaning" towards backing Boris Johnson

• Labour MP Christian Matheson resigns over sexual misconduct // Labour MP Christian Matheson has quit after a parliamentary watchdog recommended he be suspended for "serious sexual misconduct".

  Two allegations of sexual misconduct against Mr Matheson by a former member of his staff have been upheld.

• Tory leadership: Hopefuls jostle for MPs' support // Currently 106 out of 357 Tory MPs have gone public with their support. Many others may not declare who they are backing, and more could announce their decisions over the weekend - so expect the numbers to continue to change rapidly.

  

  

• Row over man appointed to make feminist Elsie Inglis sculpture // A row has broken out over the decision to appoint a man to make a sculpture in honour of the feminist Dr Elsie Inglis. The charity planning a statue on Edinburgh's Royal Mile suspended its competition to find an artist and appointed the royal sculptor Alexander Stoddart instead.

• New York court dismisses Kevin Spacey sexual assault lawsuit //A New York court has dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against the actor Kevin Spacey. The case was brought by Anthony Rapp, who says the actor inappropriately touched him at a party in 1986 when he was aged 14.

The Crown: Dame Judi Dench accuses Netflix hit of ‘crude sensationalism’ // Dame Judi Dench is the latest high-profile figure to call for a disclaimer to be added to The Crown to make clear the series is not necessarily true. The actress said Netflix "seems willing to blur the lines between historical
accuracy and crude sensationalism".

• Aston Villa: Who are the contenders to replace Steven Gerrard // Aston Villa are hunting for a new manager after Steven Gerrard was relieved of his duties following Thursday's 3-0 defeat at Fulham.

• Jofra Archer to travel with England Lions to UAE as part of injury comeback //Jofra Archer will travel with the England Lions squad for training in the United Arab Emirates next month as he continues to recover from injury. Bowler Archer, 27, has not played for England since March 2021 because of back and elbow injuries.

• Red Bull budget cap breach 'constitutes cheating' - McLaren boss Zak Brown // McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown has written a letter to governing body the FIA in which he says Red Bull breaking the budget cap "constitutes cheating". Brown calls for penalties that will hit Red Bull financially and on the track.

• Community pharmacists warn of medicine shortages amidst rising costs // Shortages and rising costs of medicines could result in patients not receiving important prescriptions, community pharmacists have warned. Commonly-prescribed drugs used to treat conditions such as osteoporosis, high blood pressure and mental health are among those affected.

• More than 7,000 people wait over two years for hospital treatment // More than 7,000 people had been waiting over two years to start hospital treatment at the end of last month, official data shows. It comes despite the health secretary setting targets to eradicate the longest waits for routine operations

• Bank of England wasn't briefed on mini-budget // The government did not tell the Bank of England about its tax cut plans before the mini-budget, one of its deputy governors has said. In the event, the mini-budget sparked market turmoil, with the Bank having to step in to stabilise pension funds.