Today’s political headlines includes criticism of Johnson for missing debate, Watson to challenge Labour to back remaining in the EU, May to announce mental health package and Johnson makes broadband pledge.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Johnson criticised for missing debate Watson to challenge Labour to back remaining in the EU May to announce mental health package Johnson makes superfast broadband pledge Hancock backs Johnson Campaigners worried cannabis is being unofficially legalised Tory donors in talks about electoral pact with the Brexit Party Corbyn supports \u2018Grenfell: Never Again\u2019 campaign
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Boris Johnson was taunted by rival leadership contenders during yesterday\u2019s\u00a0Channel Four<\/em>\u00a0debate for refusing to participate, with Jeremy Hunt asking how Johnson would be able \u2018to deal with 27 European countries\u2019 when \u2018his team won\u2019t allow him out with five fairly friendly colleagues\u2019. The paper adds that the other candidates criticised Dominic Raab for refusing to rule out suspending Parliament to enable a no-deal Brexit, with Rory Stewart branding the suggestion \u2018undemocratic\u2019 and \u2018deeply disturbing\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>, Labour\u2019s Deputy Leader Tom Watson will use a speech today to challenge Jeremy Corbyn, claiming Labour \u2018must argue strongly to remain in Europe\u2019, adding that he supports \u2018Europe because I am a socialist\u2019. A Shadow Cabinet meeting has been cancelled at short notice, supposedly because some members couldn\u2019t attend, but the paper says that some remainers believe that the leadership wished to avoid a confrontation.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun<\/em>\u00a0is\u00a0claiming<\/a>\u00a0a \u2018huge victory\u2019 for its \u2018You\u2019re Not Alone\u2019 campaign as Theresa May is set to announce today that all teachers will be trained to spot mental health issues, with updated statutory guidelines on schools\u2019 responsibilities, more support for schools to tackle self-harm and greater funding for councils.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Writing<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Boris Johnson promises to give every home in the UK access to superfast broadband within six years if he becomes Prime Minister, eight years quicker than the Government\u2019s current plans, which he says are \u2018laughably unambitious\u2019. He argues that ending the \u2018deep digital divide\u2019 is part of his \u2018moral mission to unite Brexit Britain’.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Matt Hancock has endorsed Boris Johnson\u2019s leadership campaign, calling him \u2018the best candidate to unite the Conservative Party\u2019 and vowing to \u2018hold him\u2019 to his promises to be a One Nation Conservative and to support business. A cabinet minister from a rival campaign said it was \u2018less of an endorsement and more of a surrender\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>An\u00a0investigation<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0has found that nine out of ten users and growers of cannabis do not receive criminal charges, with the proportion of users charged for possession falling from 27% in 2017 to 22% last year. David Green of the thinktank Civitas sad that the police had \u2018unofficially legalised cannabis in many parts of the country\u2019 despite doctors being \u2018increasingly worried about the impact on the mental health of cannabis users\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that donors to the Conservatives are in secret talks with Nigel Farage about the potential for an electoral pact between the Tories and the Brexit Party. It would see Farage agree not to stand candidates against Brexiteer Conservatives, while the Tories would not stand in northern Labour-held seats. A businessman told the paper that talks were at a \u2018very preliminary\u2019 stage.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has given his party\u2019s support to its \u2018Grenfell: Never Again\u2019 campaign. Corbyn said the Grenfell Tower fire was \u2018a symbol of a failed housing system and the grotesque inequality in modern Britain\u2019, criticising the Government\u2019s lack of progress in removing flammable cladding from private buildings.<\/p>\n