‘No more austerity’ and ‘Sir Shameless at it again’
The Observer leads with an exclusive interview with Sir Keir Starmer ahead of his first Labour Party conference as prime minister. He says he wants to move away from the impression of “enduring doom and gloom” and reassure party members and voters that “better times are around the corner”.
The Mail on Sunday reports Sir Keir and his chief of staff Sue Gray used “freebie” football tickets just hours after fresh allegations relating to clothes gifted to the prime minister’s wife by a Labour donor came to light. It says the hospitality tickets were provided by Tottenham Hotspur for their match against the prime minister’s beloved Arsenal last Sunday. The paper has a picture of the PM, Ms Gray and Foreign Secretary David Lammy in a corporate box alongside Katie Perrior, who was part of the attempt to launch the failed breakaway European Super League (ESL).
The former immigration minister and Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick has written in the Sunday Telegraph, saying people with links to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group were among those who have travelled to Britain across the Channel in small boats. He warns the prime minister’s decision to scrap the Rwanda deportation scheme leaves the country “more vulnerable to terrorist attacks”.
The Sunday Mirror also goes with the prime minister vowing “no more austerity” after an interview with Sir Keir. The paper reports his pledge to give people hope for a “changed Britain” after gloomy warnings about tough choices to come.
The Sunday People leads with the story that Cancer Research UK is considering refusing any further money from the estate of former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed after receiving £45,500 from his charity since 2017. On Thursday, the BBC aired a documentary called ‘Al-Fayed: Predator at Harrods’ which revealed allegations of rape and attempted rape against the billionaire by female ex-employees of his luxury London department store.
A story about the Mohamed Al Fayed allegations is on the front page of The Sunday Times, which says prosecutors have admitted they failed twice to bring charges against him. It says the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) “decided not to bring charges” against Fayed after being provided with files of evidence by police on two separate occasions, in 2009 and 2015.
The Sunday Express carries an exclusive politics story on the front page, saying the prime minister has been urged to ditch his chief of staff Sue Gray. Allies of Sir Keir have warned him “heads must roll” if he is to reassert his authority after a row erupted within government over staff pay. Earlier this week it was revealed Ms Gray is now paid more than him after receiving a pay rise.
The Sun on Sunday leads with the story that Zara McDermott was in the audience for the Strictly Come Dancing live show on Saturday. The reality star, who appeared in the previous series, was there to support her friend Pete Wicks during his first live performance. Her attendance comes after her former dance partner Graziano Di Prima was axed from the programme in July when bosses were shown footage showing him kicking her.
“Close encounters of the fur kind” is the headline on the front page of the Daily Star Sunday. It says that, in the event of an alien invasion, one in five people say they would save a pet animal instead of their mother-in-law.