Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Wednesday 30 May 2018

The Government has agreed to stop deporting migrants under an
immigration rule designed to tackle terrorism, after a newspaper
campaign claimed the rule was being misused. Highly-skilled people
have been deported over minor tax errors, says The Guardian, which
says the rule been called “truly wicked” by MPs and experts.

Italy’s Prime Minister-designate, Carlo Cottarelli, is to meet
the country’s President Sergio Mattarella for crisis talks today
after failing to secure support from major political parties. The
BBC reports that Cottarelli may not even bother to be sworn in,
with snap elections seeming increasingly likely. A fresh ballot
could take place in July.

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party’s only MP, is to step down from
its co-leadership after serving her two-year term of office. The
57-year-old said she wanted to focus on her constituency rather
than standing for the top job once again. She has shared the
leadership with Jonathan Bartley since 2016. Lucas won Brighton
Pavilion from Labour in 2010.

A dissident journalist who left Russia last year saying he no
longer felt safe has been shot dead outside his Kiev apartment in a
targeted killing. Arkady Babchenko, 41, had written critically
about Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and support for
Ukrainian separatists. Police in Kiev said they believed his
journalism led to his killing.

A man has been arrested for careless driving after an Arriva bus
ploughed into 25 cars in Dartford, injuring 17 people. Eyewitness
Tony Brown told The Sun: “Whether it was brake failure or throttle
jammed, he made it a good way through at least 5 rows of cars
before coming to a stop.” Kent Fire and Rescue said one person had
required oxygen.

An independent report on the response to the Grenfell Tower fire
– as opposed to the causes of it – commissioned by the charity
Muslim Aid has found that the official reaction was “badly flawed”.
The review criticises “weak leadership” at Kensington and Chelsea
council and said the voluntary sector was forced to step in to fill
the gaps.

Single-use coffee cups are to be banned from key government
buildings where more than 450,000 are thrown away every year in
Scotland, from 4 June. Drinks will be served in reusable ceramic
mugs for those sitting-in and staff are to bring their own cups for
takeaways. Most paper cups cannot be recycled because they contain
plastic. 

US Comic Roseanne Barr has had her revived TV show, which
co-starred John Goodman, dropped by ABC over racist tweets. Barr, a
supporter of Donald Trump, insulted former Obama aide Valerie
Jarrett, who is African-American and was born in Iran. She said
Jarrett looked like an “ape” and was connected to the Muslim
Brotherhood.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page yesterday won the latest round
of a planning row against his neighbour, former Take That singer
Robbie Williams. The 74-year-old said he was “really pleased” that
a decision to give Williams, 44, permission to build a swimming
pool underneath his Kensington mansion had been deferred.

The name Le Pen “for decades associated with anti-immigration
and often racist politics in France”, says The Guardian, appears to
have become so out of favour that even a leading member of the
country’s far right has abandoned it.

Jean-Marie Le Pen’s granddaughter Marion Marechal-Le Pen, often
tipped as a future leader of the far right despite stepping back
from public life last year, has revealed she has dropped one of the
most famous names in French politics.