The Papers: ‘£123m down the drain’ and ‘Better than a slap’
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Some £123m has gone “down the drain” says Metro as “embattled” Thames Water is hit with “the biggest ever fine for breaking rules” and hundreds of sewage spills.
“Britain’s biggest sewer rats” are splashed across the front page of the Daily Star in its coverage of the Thames Water fine. The company’s CEO, Chris Watson, is depicted riding a giant rodent with his arms in the air.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has discussed cutting her tenure short to chair the World Economic Forum, its founder Klaus Schwab tells the Financial Times. But leaving the post early “could trigger a succession race” for the “EU’s top monetary authority” the FT writes. Schwab says an apartment in Switzerland has been arranged for the move. In other news, Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye “slept with phone on silent” as power cut chaos swept the airport, an internal review revealed. A photo of young boys queueing for food in Gaza also runs across its front page as the UN human rights office says 47 people were wounded at an aid distribution site.
Doctors have been told “strikes will harm effort to heal NHS” The Times reports. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he “would not cave” in to demands for a 29% pay increase for resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, it writes. Also on the front page, “Britons could be barred from US for ‘censoring’ Americans online” after an announcement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising free speech rights,” the paper quotes the politician as saying.
The Daily Express champions how veterans’ “trips of tribute” are now “safe forever” thanks to “readers’ generosity”. In an exclusive for the paper, it says funding has been “secured” for the veterans memorial trips.
Serial killer Rose West is in her “last days” writes The Sun. She can “barely walk”, is “stuck in her cell” and “tries making pals but is despised”, according to the tabloid. Also in top billing, Jeremy Clarkson says his “£5000 bull is gay” and singer Sabrina Carpenter is “lined up” for the third Mamma Mia film.
Police have been given extra time to question a man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car ploughed into football fans during Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade on Monday. Speculation over the unnamed suspect’s identity makes the front page of the Daily Mirror among other papers. Elsewhere, EastEnders star Kara Tointon reveals she has had a double mastectomy.
The Daily Mail goes with the same two stories as the Mirror, and the same photo of Kara Tointon.
Brigitte Macron gives her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, a peck on the cheek in The Daily Telegraph’s main picture. “Better than a slap in the face” it writes, apparently referring to video of the president being shoved in the face by his spouse on a trip to Vietnam on Sunday. “Army of hackers to take on Putin” is the top headline as Defence Secretary John Healey promises more than £1bn to the military for battle field tech. The funding will be set out in the government’s Strategic Defence Review on Monday. The UK is a key backer of Ukraine in its war with President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
“Why did France shrug off the Macron shove?” asks The Guardian for its part. There is also “anger over poor housing” which could “spark social tension” according to the UK’s housing ombudsman who has recorded a 474% increase in complaints. A stark photo of a man carrying a white plastic bag on his shoulder pairs with the news that four people have died in “Gaza crowd chaos at UN food depot”.
The BBC is “letting off” over-75s who “fail to pay their TV licence fee, according to The i Paper, quoting “an insider”. “Figures show the corporation is yet to prosecute anyone over that age not found to be paying the charge,” it writes. A TV Licensing spokesperson told BBC News: “Our primary aim is to support customers, particularly those with vulnerabilities, and to help them get and stay licensed. When there is evidence that someone has avoided paying for a TV Licence when they need one, we have a duty to enforce the law and this applies to everyone. In all cases, prosecution is a last resort.”
