‘Fuel duty next’ and ‘Brexit reset’
A number of Thursday’s front pages lead with Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to the continent. The Daily Mirror splashes with “Brexit reset” as it reports on the prime minister saying the UK will work closer with the European Union on migrant crossings and trade but rules out re-joining the EU.
The i newspaper also leads with Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Germany and the paper says the PM has been urged to agree to ease immigration controls for young people to strike a better relationship with the European Union.
Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary is on the front of Thursday’s Metro underneath a headline which reads “Three pints and you’re out”. The Ryanair boss wants people to be restricted to two drinks at airports to tackle a rise in poor behaviour on flights, the paper says.
Under the stark headline “No cigarettes and alcohol”, the Sun leads on leaked government documents which reportedly say smoking is set to be banned from pub gardens, outside stadiums and in parks under government plans. At the top of the paper is a picture of former BBC News anchor and presenter Huw Edwards who “let down” the corporation, according to an all-staff email sent out by director general Tim Davie on Wednesday.
The Daily Telegraph also mentions comments by Tim Davie on the BBC being “let down” by Huw Edwards and Jermaine Jenas. The broadsheet leads with a report that Sir Keir Starmer suggests fuel duty could be raised in the October budget in what it describes in its headline as “next in the tax grab”.
A photo of American actress Jenna Ortega catches the eye on the front of the Daily Mail as she is snapped attending a red carpet for the movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice during the 81st Venice International Film Festival. The paper also leads with a story on Labour not ruling out a rise in fuel duty, citing a warning from the RAC.
The Financial Times leads with the European Union probing a possible failure by messaging platform Telegram to provide accurate data under new regulations. The social media app, whose founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France over the weekend, says he has “nothing to hide”.
The Home Office is accused on the front of the Guardian of submitting “woeful” reports on the cost of asylum and immigration under Conservative ministers. Elsewhere, the paper spalshes a large photo of the opening ceremony of the Paralympic games which were opened officially by French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. “Paralympics light up Paris,” is the headline next to people dancing in the capital.
“Not a word from our PM on boats crisis!” exclaims the Daily Express on its front page quoting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage who criticises Sir Keir Starmer after “not a word” was said by him about the more than 520 people intercepted in the English Channel on Wednesday. Elsewhere on the front of the tabloid, the Prince and Princess of Wales send their best wishes to GB’s Paralympians as the Paris games get under way.
According to the front of the Times, the chief inspector of probations says plans to release thousands of prisoners a month to tackle overcrowding is “rolling the dice”. Also on the front is an image showing a pilot and his passenger sitting in the wreckage after a light aircraft crash on to a road in the Cotswolds.
The Daily Star also covers the “incredible escape” of a glider pilot who crash-landed on the A419 in Gloucestershire.