Your noon Briefing: White House aides line up to deny op-ed

Welcome to your noon digest of what’s been making news and what to watch for.

Hello readers. Here is your noon roundup of today’s top stories and a long read for lunchtime.

FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2018 file photo, Vice President Mike Pence gestures while speaking to the Republican National Lawyers Association in Washington. President Donald Trump is lashing out against the anonymous senior official who wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times. Washington is consumed by a wild guessing game as to the identity of the writer, and swift denials of involvement in the op-ed came Thursday from top administration officials, including from Vice President Mike Pence's office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, and other Cabinet members. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Piece de resistance

A parade of senior White House officials have come forward to deny authorship of the devastating New York Times opinion piece describing an internal “resistance” movement against the US President. Amid feverish speculation over the identity of the “gutless” author, who the Times says is a senior administration official, Mr Trump’s closest officials — Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — were the first to come forward to deny they had authored the column, and denounce the article, which Donald Trump has labelled “treason.”

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Former prime minister Tony Abbott takes questions after a speech on the state of the Australian political landscape at The Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, Saturday, August 25, 2018. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett) NO ARCHIVING

British workers welcome: Abbott

British politician and self-styled “Brexit bad boy” Nigel Farage, has warned if Britain is forced into a second referendum on leaving the EU it will trigger voter “anger we have not seen in our lifetime … a complete breakdown of trust in our established political system”. He was speaking at the Spectator Anglo-Australian Forum in Sydney this morning, where he also described British Prime Minister Theresa May as “the worst PM I have seen in my lifetime”.

Tony Abbott told the same forum he welcomed the prospect of a renewed trading relationship between Australia and Britain as the two countries had always been “family”. Highly skilled British workers who “could genuinely make a contribution to the country” would be very welcome, he said, as long as they did not displace local workers.

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9/2/2017: Capilano CEO Ben McKee on the honey filling line, at their production plant in Richlands, Brisbane. Capilano is the biggest Australian honey label and processor, now developing new manuka and prebiotic honeys - as well as natural floral honeys - which are health products to export mainly to China. Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Bitter facts for Fairfax and ABC

After this week’s disclosure about the involvement of King & Wood Mallesons in the problems afflicting Capilano Honey, some might consider that a few questions need to be answered. But those questions should be directed at Fairfax Media and the ABC, not Mallesons.

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The Palio horse race in Siena, Bellini travel

The long read: Too touristy?

Can’t stand the thought of queuing for hours in the heat for museums and attractions, or being rejected at the best restaurants? Maria Shollenbarger reveals how to tour Italy like a VIP.

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Comment of the day

“The same protesters who greeted Southern and Milo will no doubt be at the Sofitel tonight. Their solution to what ails our society: the dissolution of national borders, the abolition of private property rights and the right to inheritance as per a particular 1848 manifesto. Hardly an alternative.”

John, in response to ‘Nigel Farage attacks political correctness, the ABC and Left in rousing Sydney speech’.