Ten Things You Need to Know Today: Sunday 3 Jun 2018

Britain would run out of medicine, fuel and food within a
fortnight if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal,
according senior civil servants. Under a scenario drawn up for
David Davis, the port of Dover would collapse “on day one” if
Britain crashes out of the EU. An official said the scenario is so
shocking that it has only been shared with a handful of ministers
and is “locked in a safe”.

A manufacturer of disposable paper cups says a ban is
unnecessary. Paul Synott said all paper cups produced in the UK
could be recycled with better infrastructure. Synott, who is also
spokesman for the Paper Cup Alliance, said despite public
perception, “all paper cups produced in the UK can be recycled”.
However, more than 99.75% of disposable used cups in the UK do not
get recycled.

G7 ministers have slammed US tariffs on steel and aluminium and
warned a trade war could start within “a few days”. As tensions
rise, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has met Chinese Vice
Premier Liu He to try to ease relations. However, US President
Donald Trump insisted on Twitter that the US had been “ripped off
by other countries for years on trade”.

Legalising cannabis in the UK could earn the Treasury between
£1bn and £3.5bn a year in tax revenues, a report has concluded.
Health Poverty Action says the move is an “idea whose time has
come” and suggests that the windfall could be used to fund the NHS.
“Prohibition has failed,” said a spokeswoman. The Liberal Democrats
and the Greens believe in a regulated cannabis market.

A whale has died near the border between Thailand and Malaysia
after consuming more than 80 plastic bags. A team of vets tried to
help stabilise its condition but the whale died on Friday
afternoon, say officials. A marine biologist said the bags had made
it impossible for the whale to consume any nutritional food. “It’s
a huge problem,” he added.

A leading Tory donor says Michael Gove should replace Theresa
May as party leader. Crispin Odey, a hedge fund manager who backed
the Leave campaign, says May has shown that she cannot “carry
Brexit through”. He told The Observer: “There’s no point in voting
for freedom if you don’t know what to do when you’re free.”

Britain’s 10m low-paid workers face another decade of wage
squeeze, according to the the Centre for Social
Justice thinktank. Having seen their pay stall for two
decades, those paid between £10,000 and £15,000 will see global
economic competition, automation, the shift to the gig economy and
a widening regional divide heap further pressure on their
incomes.

Pedro Sánchez has been sworn in as the country’s new prime
minister after the ousting of conservative Mariano Rajoy. The
socialist Sánchez, who is an atheist, took the oath without a bible
or crucifix, an unprecedented act in modern Spanish history. He
promised to “faithfully fulfil” his duties “with conscience and
honour”. He is expected to name his cabinet within days.

Some Sinn Fein supporters will vote for the DUP because of the
party’s position on abortion, says the leader of the latter party.
Arlene Foster told Sky News a lot of people were feeling
“disenfranchised” by the outcome of the recent referendum in the
Republic of Ireland, in which voters chose to lift the
constitutional ban on abortion.

Jonathan Aitken, the former Tory minister and ex-prisoner, plans
to work as a part-time prison chaplain. Aitken will be ordained at
St Paul’s Cathedral by the first female Bishop of London, Dame
Sarah Mullally. He tells The Sunday Times: “I’m every bit as
excited as I was on my first day on the East Anglian Daily Times as
the assistant tennis and funerals correspondent.”