Portrait of the week: Teachers strike, French riot and dire news for Diet Coke

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The Financial Conduct Authority questioned banks about savings rates lagging behind the rising cost of mortgages. Andrew Griffith, the City Minister, was also asked by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to look into cases of bank customers who reported their accounts being closed because of their opinions on such things as LGBTQ+ policies. Petrol retailers were blamed by Harriett Baldwin, the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, for not passing on the benefit of a 5p cut in fuel duty. A group of 25 MPs, calling themselves the New Conservatives, published a plan to cut net migration from 606,000, last year’s figure, to 226,000, the figure for 2019. In June, 3,824 people crossed the Channel in small boats, the highest figure so far for the month. Orkney considered becoming an overseas territory, like the Falkland Islands, or a self-governing territory of Norway, like the Faroe Islands are of Denmark.

Australia won the second Ashes Test at Lord’s by 43 runs after Jonny Bairstow, wandering out of his crease when he thought the over had finished, had been stumped by the Australia wicketkeeper. The England captain Ben Stokes said: ‘Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer for me is no.’ Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, said he agreed with Stokes. Three members of the MCC were suspended after angry exchanges in the Long Room with Australia players. Teachers went on strike. The government contemplated having to take over Thames Water, with £14 billion of debts; the company was fined £3.3 million for discharging sewage into the Gatwick stream and the river Mole in Surrey in 2017. June was the hottest on record.

Rishi Sunak promised to ‘train, retain and reform’ the NHS workforce under a long-term plan.