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1. Liz Truss: No windfall tax on energy companies
Liz Truss on Thursday night rejected calls to increase the windfall tax on energy companies to fund cost of living handouts for households, saying profit is not a “dirty word”.
The Foreign Secretary said she was “absolutely” against such taxes, arguing that such a policy approach would be taken by Labour. Read the full story.
2. UK weather: Drought conditions could last into next year
Drought conditions could last into next year, experts predicted as water levels in reservoirs across England and Wales dropped to record lows.
An official drought is expected to be declared across the worst-hit areas of southern England at a meeting between ministers and the water industry on Friday after the region had its driest July since 1836. Read the full story.
3. British EDF customers pay twice as much as French for energy
EDF energy customers in Britain are paying almost two-and-a-half times as much as their counterparts in France after Emmanuel Macron imposed strict caps on price rises.
EDF customers in Britain have had their bills capped at £1,971 by energy regulator Ofgem, while French customers on regulated tariffs face bills of around €950 (£803). Read the full story.
4. Prince Andrew continues to receive taxpayer-funded police protection
The Duke of York still receives taxpayer-funded police protection, despite no longer undertaking official duties, The Telegraph has learnt.
Prince Andrew’s entitlement to police bodyguards was subjected to a full review after he was exiled as a working royal by the Queen earlier this year, shortly before agreeing a hefty financial settlement with his sex abuse accuser. Read the full story.
5. Globe Theatre makes Joan of Arc non-binary in new play
Joan of Arc has been made non-binary in a new production at Shakespeare’s Globe, prompting claims from campaigners that the French heroine has had her achievements “erased from history”.
The Maid of Orleans, known for leading the French fight against the English in the Hundred Years’ War despite being a woman in a patriarchal medieval society, has now had her gender cast into doubt in a new play titled I, Joan. Read the full story.
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