Top story: TUC fears post-furlough jobs collapse

Good morning – Warren Murray with the news to accompany your morning beverage of choice.

At least 100m subsidised meals were eaten by diners in the UK in August under the government’s month-long “eat out to help out” scheme. The subsidy has cost more than the £500m that Rishi Sunak set aside in the July mini-budget. There was a rush during the last week of the scheme with 51m meals claimed in England, 6m in Scotland, and more than 2m in both Wales and Northern Ireland.

Rishi Sunak has been urged by the Trades Union Congress to launch a wage subsidy scheme to prevent a “tsunami” of unemployment when furlough comes to an end this autumn. The government is gradually scaling back the furlough scheme and will close it entirely by the end of October. The Bank of England has warned as many as 2.5 million people could be out of work by the end of 2020. The TUC says a continental-style system of “short-time working” wage support could be used in Britain to save millions of jobs from redundancy.

More homes in Britain are selling within a week of being put on the market than at any time over the past 10 years, according to data from the Rightmove website. Pent-up demand and a stamp duty holiday have fuelled the market over the summer – traditionally a quiet time for sales. But the number of first-time buyers fell in the first half of the year – taking it to a seven-year low of 116,843 – as they struggle to find 90% mortgages and face competition from investors and downsizers who also receive the stamp duty holiday.

Breaking news: Portland killing suspect ‘shot dead’ – The man being investigated over the death of a far-right protester in Portland has been shot dead by US marshals in Washington state, according to local law enforcement officials. Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, was killed during an encounter in Lacey, Washington, south-west of Seattle on Thursday evening, Pierce county sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer told local media. Aaron Danielson was shot in downtown Portland during a clash between Black Lives Matters protesters and supporters of Donald Trump. Federal agents from the FBI and the US marshals service located Reinoehl on Thursday on a warrant, Troyer said. “The suspect came out to the car,” Troyer said. “They attempted to put him into custody and shots were fired.” In an interview with Vice published on Thursday, Reinoehl said he acted in self-defence when the far-right marchers diverted from their agreed route and descended on the downtown area where BLM supporters were gathered. “I had no choice. I mean, I, I had a choice. I could have sat there and watched them kill a friend of mine of colour. But I wasn’t going to do that.”

Official start to HS2 work – HS2 has announced the formal beginning of construction of the high-speed rail line between London and the West Midlands, which it claims will create 22,000 jobs. Boris Johnson is due to attend a shovel-in-the-ground ceremony today. Contracts to build the first phase including viaducts, tunnels, and stations at Euston and Old Oak Common, were signed off by the Treasury during lockdown after the government approved the controversial £106bn project in February. It may take until 2036 before there are full services on the initial London to Birmingham section, although the first high-speed trains might appear by 2029. The eventual completion of the second phase, completing a Y-shaped network to Manchester and Leeds, remains in some doubt.

Failures of DExEU – Excessive secrecy about the government’s negotiating objectives and failure to get to grips with the huge challenge hindered preparations for Brexit, the National Audit Office has found. Departments such as Defra put non-disclosure agreements on plans that were meant to help the public and businesses prepare for Brexit, while there was a high turnover of staff at the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU). “DExEU kept a tight hold on communications, keeping secret anything which might pertain to the UK’s negotiating position,” the NAO report says. “This instinct for secrecy in government can get in the way of effective coordination, collaboration and a sense of urgency in progressing towards a common goal.” More than 22,000 workers were deployed across Whitehall on preparations that cost £4.4bn. Meg Hillier, chair of the public accounts committee, said the government “must not make these mistakes again when weighing up how best to allocate resources between the pandemic response, Brexit and its other priorities”.

Electric cars need jump start – The high price of electric cars is offputting for more than half of UK consumers, a poll for the car industry lobby group the SMMT has found. Despite government subsidies, battery electric cars are still more expensive than those burning petrol or diesel, but carmakers need to make and sell more of them to meet new emissions laws. The SMMT has been calling for the UK government to reverse last year’s removal of purchase subsidies from plug-in hybrids, which use both batteries and a combustion engine. Mike Hawes, the SMMT’s chief executive, said electric vehicles needed to become “as affordable to buy and as easy to own and operate as conventional cars”.

Biden offers healing words – Joe Biden has visited Kenosha in Wisconsin and warned that Donald Trump’s behaviour “legitimises the dark side of human nature”. Biden spoke by phone to Jacob Blake, who was shot by a white police officer, and met members of Blake’s family.

Biden’s trip was designed to draw a stark contrast with the president, who used his own visit to amplify his tough-on-crime message and forcefully defend law enforcement, while rejecting protesters’ urgent pleas for reform and avoiding mentioning Blake altogether.

Today in Focus podcast: Trump’s law and order politicking

The Guardian’s US Washington DC bureau chief, David Smith, discusses Donald Trump’s law and order gambit and how it is impacting his Democratic opponent Joe Biden’s campaign.

Lunchtime read: Best things to do around the UK

From street theatre, cookery classes and new bars to a dog-friendly festival, here’s our pick of attractions and events happening right now.

Sport

Andy Murray’s US Open comeback came to an end in the second round at the hands of Canadian prodigy Felix Auger-Aliassime. Johanna Konta was also knocked out, losing 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, but Serena Williams’ drive for her 24th major singles title continued with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Margarita Gasparyan. José Luis Gayà cancelled out Timo Werner’s opener as Spain rescued a late 1-1 draw against Germany in the Nations League. Gareth Bale was withdrawn at half-time in a drab 1-0 win for Wales against Finland brightened only by another goal for Kieffer Moore. England and Australia resume their cricket rivalry today in the first of three Twenty20 internationals behind closed doors with Jos Buttler likely to open the batting with Jonny Bairstow. Sir Frank Williams and his daughter, Claire, are to end their association with the Williams Formula One team. An untroubled Adam Yates, of Mitchelton-Scott, retained the overall lead in the 2020 Tour de France on a day in which the main favourites took a back seat and allowed a stage-long breakaway to run its course. And Mo Farah has targeted the first world record of his career when he returns to the track for the first time in three years in Brussels.

Business

Shares in Asia Pacific have been battered overnight following some hefty falls on Wall Street sparked by a sharp correction in technology stocks. New York’s tech-heavy Nasdaq index has climbed to record highs in recent weeks as investors bet that companies such as Amazon and Apple would emerge from the coronavirus crisis stronger. But amid concerns that the economic recovery could take longer, the Nikkei lost 1.3%, Hong Kong was off 1.75% and Sydney was down a thumping 3%. The FTSE100 is set to shed 0.45% at the opening, with the pound steady at $1.328 and €1.121.

The papers

A former Australian PM, Tony Abbott, makes the splash in the Guardian: “Pressure on PM to drop ‘misogynist’ trade adviser”. The Telegraph looks like it’s right behind this one: “BBC chief cracks down on Twitter warriors”. The Times is happy beating that drum too: “BBC should be cut down to size, says new chief” while the Express joins in with “BBC ‘wastes’ millions chasing licence fees”.

The Mail wants Boris Johnson to “Get Britain flying again” as it backs business leaders calling for Covid testing at the borders.

The Metro reports “400 care home lives lost a day” while the i has “UK testing strategy ‘flawed and dangerous’”. The FT says “Gaps in Brexit preparations spark industry fears of chaos at borders”. And the Mirror goes its own way to warn of the “End of the local chemist” as underfunded, family-owned shops face closure.

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