Browsing: front pages

Alex Batty has spoken to the Daily Mirror about his life back in the UK after six years on the run in Europe, revealing he hopes his mum and granddad do not get caught by police after taking him abroad.

On the eve of his 18th birthday, Alex, who now lives with his Gran in Oldham, tells the paper he doesn’t expect to hear from his Mum and doesn’t want to because he doesn’t want her to get caught. He reveals he’s started a computer programming course, been on a few dates, and already enjoyed some birthday celebrations.

The Daily Express reports Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has pledged to end the “poisonous” woke culture which he says threatens to distract the military from its job of protecting the nation.

Also on the front page is the vigil to mark the first anniversary of teenager Brianna Ghey’s murder and a story about mobile coverage in rural areas.

The Sun says King Charles waved and looked relaxed as he made his first public appearance since revealing he has cancer. Charles and Camilla were en route to Church on the Sandringham Estate.

Arsenal’s 6-0 thrashing of West Ham also makes the front page, the paper summarises the game as ‘hammered.’

The Independent leads on Commons leader Penny Mordaunt who said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ‘should reflect on’ gender jibe made in the House of Commons during Wednesday’s PMQs.

No 10 and the PM have rejected calls to apologise after Sunak made the jibe in front of Brianna Ghey’s mother – who was in the House during the session.

The Guardian reports that campaigners and unions are “furious” with Sir Keir Starmer for U-turning on his £28bn green investment plan. It calls the move “the most controversial U-turn of Keir Starmer’s leadership” and says it has prompted an angry response from environmental groups, trade unions and some in the energy sector.

The paper quotes the Unite union saying Labour risks “outsourcing their policy-making to the Conservatives”.

The Metro’s front page leads on a conspiracy theorist’s claim that the Manchester Arena bombing was faked. A high Court has described the claims as “absurd and fanatical”. Richard Hall is being sued by a father and daughter who were both badly injured in the 2017 attack.

Hall claimed the attack was part of a government exercise and that survivors lied about their injuries.

The Sun reports on plans to introduce a blue card into football that would see players sent to a 10-minute sin bin. The paper says football fans have reacted with fury over the sin-bin plans.

The paper says the move would add to the “confusion” caused by the video assistance referee system (VAR), which critics have said slows down the game and fails to improve the quality of the decisions made.

The Daily Mirror reports the number of children having teeth pulled in hospital has rocketed to 48,000 last year due to difficulty accessing dentists.

An average of 119 operations a day are currently being carried out on children with tooth decay, according to the Daily Mirror. The paper quotes British Dental Association chair Eddie Crouch saying that the “oral health gap is widening for our youngest patients”.

The prime minister is going to “come out fighting” against Labour’s “dirty politics”, according to the Daily Express. The paper reports Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of trying to divert attention away from dropping his flagship green policy by calling on Rishi Sunak to apologise to Brianna Ghey’s family over comments at PMQs.

A Tory source has accused Sir Keir of using the death of Brianna Ghey, a transgender teenager who was murdered in a park in February last year, to “distract from his party’s chaos”.

Prince William has made his first public appearance since the King’s cancer diagnosis, the Metro reports, while Prince Harry has flown home to the US following his short visit to the UK to see his father.

‘I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days,’ he said. ‘It means a great deal to us all.

An investigation by The Independent has found that the government has been forced to publicly admit flawed decision-making led to Afghan heroes being turned down for sanctuary in Britain.

The front page features an image from Wednesday night’s chemical attack, as well as an inset picture of the man they are looking for. The man appears to have significant injuries to his eye. The paper notes at least 12 people were injured in the attack that appears to have been targeted.