Climate activists jailed and Obama ‘moves against’ Biden
The Times leads with the news that Just Stop Oil protesters have been given lengthy jail terms. Five activists, including the group’s co-founder Roger Hallam and 22-year-old Cressida Gethin, were jailed for between four and five years for conspiring to organise protests that blocked the M25 motorway in 2022. It quotes environmental campaigners calling the sentences a “gross miscarriage of justice”. The Times also has a headline saying that US President Joe Biden’s “old boss” Barack Obama wants him to reconsider whether to continue his run to become president.
The Guardian also leads with Just Stop Oil, pointing out that the jail terms are possibly the longest sentences ever given in the UK for non-violent protest. The paper also features a photo of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shaking hands, noting that the Ukrainian president is due to meet the new UK cabinet on Friday.
Extinction Rebellion co-founder Roger Hallam’s picture takes up a large section of the Daily Telegraph’s front page. “‘Fanatical’ XR founder jailed for five years”, reads the paper’s headline. Hallam said in a statement during the trial that there was “an obligation” to halt “the unimaginable horrors of climate and social collapse”. The paper also reports that some Democrats believe President Biden could withdraw from the presidential race as soon as this weekend.
The Daily Mail claims a judge who handed the Just Stop Oil activists hefty jail sentences “spoke for all of us”. But TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham has criticised the sentencings, calling the law under which they were convicted a “reckless and irresponsible erosion of our human rights”.
“Time is up” is the message Mr Obama is said to have given Mr Biden, according to the i. Its lead story says workers will get the right to ignore their emails, texts and phone calls in the evening, under new rules outlined by the new Labour government. The rules are not mandatory but part of a “new code of practice for workplaces”, it says.
Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi is also said to have raised doubts about President Biden’s chances of winning the White House race, reports the Financial Times. It adds that Mr Obama has told allies Mr Biden’s chance of beating Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump later this year have greatly diminished.
“They failed us all,” is the Daily Mirror’s headline, in reference to Thursday’s Covid inquiry findings. It says the report “blasted Boris Johnson’s handling of the crisis” and quotes Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK saying “the last government failed its citizens”. The former prime minister has previously apologised to victims for the “pain and the loss and the suffering” people experienced during the pandemic, but maintained that ministers did their “level best” to respond to the virus in difficult circumstances.
The Metro leads with a “damning report” that says Andrew Malkinson, a man who was jailed for 17 years for a crime he did not commit, could have been exonerated a decade earlier.
The Daily Express hails “progress” after a British vessel reportedly took migrants back to France for the first time “in a new sign of improving co-operation over the small boats crisis”. It also asks “is it all over for Joe?” as speculation grows over whether he will step down from the presidential race.
“Scorchio!” the Daily Star says, as a wave of hot weather hits the UK on Friday.
Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!
Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
