News Daily: PM warned over language and minimum pricing cuts alcohol consumption

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Johnson told to curb ‘dangerous’ language

MPs have accused the prime minister of using “dangerous” language over Brexit, after he accused parliamentarians of “surrender” and “cowardice”. There was anger on the Labour benches after Boris Johnson dismissed as “humbug” one MP’s concerns that the Commons needed to moderate its language, as members faced abuse and death threats.

There was further uproar after Mr Johnson responded to a point made by the Labour MP for Batley and Spen – the constituency of Jo Cox – by saying the best way to honour the murdered MP’s memory was “to get Brexit done”.

While opposition MPs criticised the prime minister’s response, Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan tweeted that Mr Johnson was “aware and sympathetic” to the threats MPs have received.

The BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, writes that the Commons was a place of “fear and loathing” on Wednesday, not a forum for debate and discussion that could provide a solution for us all.

We’ve also been answering your questions about what happens now that Parliament has resumed its business.

Minimum alcohol price ‘cuts drinking’

The introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol in Scotland has cut the amount people are drinking, according to a study. Since 2018, alcohol sold in Scottish shops cannot cost less than 50p a unit. Research published in the British Medical Journal suggests the move has led people to buy 1.2 units less alcohol each week – the equivalent of just over half a pint of beer or a measure of spirits. Scotland has led the way by introducing minimum alcohol pricing, and now there are calls to extend the policy to the rest of the UK.

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Congress sees ‘troubling’ Trump whistleblower complaint

Politicians in the US have seen a whistleblower’s complaint about President Donald Trump, which has led to calls for his impeachment. The complaint concerns a phone call in which Mr Trump is understood to have asked his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate corruption claims involving the son of Joe Biden, Mr Trump’s possible rival in next year’s presidential election. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing by the Bidens. The US president has decried the impeachment proceedings as a “witch-hunt”. But a Republican senator said there were “real troubling things here”. Find out more about the phone conversation at the centre of the controversy here.

The mystery of the disappearing ‘Cryptoqueen’

By Rory Cellan-Jones, Technology correspondent

If ever an industry needed a PR makeover, it’s the world of cryptocurrencies.

It seems every week brings evidence of scams and fraud, from the hacking of exchanges to Initial Coin Offerings where the founder disappears with the money. Just on Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US charged the founder of an online adult entertainment marketplace with running a fraudulent ICO (Initial Coin Offering).

But that case involved tens of thousands of dollars – a mere bagatelle compared to the monster cryptocurrency scam whose story is being told in an enthralling BBC podcast.

Read the full article

What the papers say

Wednesday evening’s angry exchanges in Parliament dominate the front pages. The Times says the Commons reached “boiling point” after MPs returned following the Supreme Court’s ruling that the prime minister’s prorogation was unlawful. The Daily Telegraph reports that Boris Johnson accused MPs of cowardice for not backing a snap election, but the Guardian says there was fury in the chamber after he said the best way to honour murdered MP Jo Cox was to deliver Brexit. Elsewhere, the Sun leads with a picture of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, holding her son Archie during their visit to South Africa. You can read our full paper review here.