Morning mail: Reese Witherspoon alleges sexual assault Wednesday: the actor joins other celebrities in speaking out after Harvey Weinstein allegations surface. Plus: MI5 chief says UK facing most severe terror threat ever Reese Witherspoon says she was sexually assaulted by a director in the first of many experiences of 'harassment and sexual assault'. Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images Eleanor Ainge Roy @EleanorAingeRoy Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 18 October. Top stories The Hollywood actor Reese Witherspoon has revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a director when she was 16 but was told to remain silent by agents and producers. Witherspoon did not name the director responsible but said the incident was the first of many experiences of "harassment and sexual assault" throughout her career. "I have my own experiences that have come back to me very vividly and I find it really hard to sleep, hard to think, hard to communicate a lot of the feelings that I've been having about anxiety, the guilt for not speaking up earlier," she said. Witherspoon said that she was prompted to speak up after hearing other accounts of sexual assault faced by women in the film industry, saying "I actually felt less alone this week than I have ever felt in my entire career." Also speaking at the Elle event, Jennifer Lawrence shared her own experiences as a young woman in the film industry. The actor revealed that on one early production she was made to take part in a naked lineup with other female actors, an experience she described as "degrading and humiliating". The actor's comments come at a time when Hollywood is reckoning with a culture of abuse in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Weinstein has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by more than two dozen women over four decades. The producer has "unequivocally denied" many of the allegations. Australia has very strong anti-discrimination laws but they are still failing women who are the victims of sexual harassment. The sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins, says there has been no discernible decrease in sexual harassment, even if there is a heightened awareness of it. "We had a lot of progress in the 60s and 70s in Australia, culminating in strong laws in the 80s in sex discrimination," Jenkins says. "People assume we are doing really well now [but] in practice we haven't made all of the progress that we expected." The UK is facing its most severe terror threat ever, the chief of MI5 has warned, with the head of the intelligence service saying more attacks are inevitable as Britain sees a "dramatic upshift" in Islamist terrorism. Andrew Parker, the director general of MI5, said: "That threat is multi-dimensional, evolving rapidly and operating at a scale and pace we've not seen before." He added: "It's at the highest tempo I have seen in my 34-year career. Today there is more terrorist activity, coming at us more quickly, and it can be harder to detect." MI5 is under intense pressure to demonstrate its effectiveness after four Islamist terrorist attacks escaped its detection this year and 36 people were killed. Following the recent attacks on the UK MI5 staff numbers have expanded from 4,000 to 5,000 and thwarted 20 plots in the past four years, Parker said. Seven plots had been stopped before jihadists could strike in the last seven months alone, Parker added. "The threat is more diverse than I've ever known. Plots developed here in the UK but plots directed from overseas as well. Plots online. Complex scheming and also crude stabbings. Lengthy planning but also spontaneous attacks. Extremists of all ages, gender and backgrounds, united only by the toxic ideology of violent victory that drives them." Labor has one eye on the next election and another on long-term low wages growth in a ramped up industrial relations pitch to voters. The shadow workplace relations minister, Brendan O'Connor, will use a speech to the National Press Club today to telegraph significant changes to federal industrial law if Labor wins the next federal election. In the ALP's sights are "sham" enterprise agreements that are not voted on by the majority of the workers they will cover and the gig economy. Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Catalonia to protest against a judge's decision to detain two prominent pro-independence leaders, as tensions between the Madrid and Barcelona governments continue to rise. Jordi Sánchez, the president of the Catalan National Assembly, and Jordi Cuixart, the president of Òmnium Cultural, are being investigated for alleged sedition in the run-up to the regional independence referendum two weeks ago. The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, condemned the men's detention. "Spain jails Catalonia's civil society leaders for organising peaceful demonstrations," he tweeted. "Sadly, we have political prisoners again." Sport The AFL's last-minute decision to deny Hannah Mouncey the right to nominate for the 2018 AFLW draft is a significant step backwards for any claim the league has to inclusiveness, writes Kate O'Halloran. The problem is not just the decision but also its timing and the flimsy reasons given, which all conveyed a lack of respect for Mouncey. All of Australia's new captain's cricket experiences have been building up to leading her nation in an Ashes series, Tim Wigmore writes. With the opener this Sunday in Brisbane, Rachael Haynes says that she's "well-prepared as a leader". Thinking time Lisa Wilkinson with finalists before the annual Women of the Future awards in Sydney. Photograph: Don Arnold/WireImage Australia's gender pay gap is once again in the spotlight with the sudden departure of Lisa Wilkinson from Channel Nine, reportedly because the network wouldn't meet her demands for wage parity with her male co-host. Despite decades of government policy, why do women across the country still earn on average 15.3% less than men? In this datablog we look at how discrimination, childcare and industrial segregation are driving the disparity, leaving women with less superannuation, less independence, less security and less power. Decades of dud healthy eating guidance sent the humble egg into nutritional exile. But with new advice about runny yolks suggesting that salmonella in raw eggs is a thing of the past – and the unhealthy cholesterol argument debunked long ago – it may be time to dust off your poaching skills and enjoy ''nature's multivitamin" again. "Whatever your current status," writes egg-lover Joanna Blythman. "Starving, peckish, dieting, feasting, economising, working, travelling, convalescing, or just going about your daily business – it's hard to beat an egg." The Carmichael coalmine was once pitched as a choice between jobs and the environment. So where are the jobs, asks the Queensland economist John Quiggin. "We are promised an economic bonanza with 10,000 jobs and billions of dollars in royalties and taxes. For hard-pressed cities like Townsville and Rockhampton and for governments with a chronic shortage of funds, this seems too good to turn down ... It's becoming increasingly evident, however, that the choice is a false one. In all probability, neither the jobs nor the revenue will ever materialise. Rather, the whole project will turn into a sink, into which public money is poured for no return." What's he done now? Donald Trump has suffered a setback after announcing he will declare the US opioid crisis a national emergency next week. "Rep. Tom Marino has informed me that he is withdrawing his name from consideration as drug czar," Trump tweeted overnight. "Tom is a fine man and a great Congressman!" Marino was nominated to lead the National Office of Drug Control Policy, a key role in efforts to tackle the epidemic in opioid addiction and abuse. But on Sunday his suitability for the role of "drug czar" was thrown into doubt after a joint report by the Washington Post and 60 Minutes investigated his role as the sponsor of a bill that critics say undermined federal enforcement efforts against the opioid epidemic. Media roundup The Daily Telegraph splashes with a full-page photograph of Lisa WIlkinson and the rather snippy headline "Lisa, you ain't Karl – Nine boss hits out at runaway star". The network chief executive, Hugh Marks, told the Telegraph that Wilkinson demanded $2.3m, and the money could be invested in junior journalists instead. The Australian Financial Review leads with proposed energy reforms with the headline "Strong backing for energy plan". It claims Labor states with ambitious renewable energy targets will face more costly reliability standards, which could increase their cost of electricity. Distant volcanic eruptions may have triggered revolts by the people of ancient Egypt, the ABC science team reports, with ice cores and historical data indicating many local uprisings occured around volcanic eruptions in the last 260 years of the despised Ptolemaic Dynasty, the last ancient Egyptian empire. Coming up The Victorian state parliament sits with debate continuing on its euthanasia bill. Federal parliament also sits with energy expected to again dominate the agenda. Coalition MPs will also be nervously awaiting any decision by the high court on MPs citizenship, which could be today. Supporting the Guardian We'd like to acknowledge our generous supporters who enable us to keep reporting on the critical stories. If you value what we do and would like to help, please make a contribution or become a supporter today. Thank you. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396