Virus hospital admissions ‘over-reported’
‘Boris carries on camping’
Many of the papers reflect on the record 55-year minimum sentence handed to the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber. The Daily Express has the headline, “Never Let Him See The Light Of Day”.
The Metro picks out comments by the judge at the Old Bailey who said he would have given Hashem Abedi a whole life term, but was unable to do so because of his age at the time of the attack.
The FT goes on to argue that where the Russian leadership is “undoubtedly culpable” is in allowing a culture of impunity around such violence. Foreign investors, it warns, “should not close their eyes”.
Future of BBC news bulletins
Fran Unsworth is quoted as saying: “TV journalism will still be around because of the power of pictures to tell a story, but not necessarily in its current form. I might be wrong, but I doubt it.”
The former BBC newsreader, Angela Rippon, has told the Mirror that scrapping the bulletins would lead to “information anarchy and chaos”.
‘Cloud will hang over Class of 2020’
As is common at this time of year, the papers are full of photographs of excited teenagers celebrating their GCSEs – but there’s also concern about inflated grades following a record-breaking set of results.
“Prizes For All In Class Of Covid”, says the Daily Mail.
The Daily Telegraph’s leader column warns that “a cloud will always hang over the 2020 generation”, but puts the blame squarely at the door of ministers. “Given everything else the country is going through”, it says, “maintaining rigorous education standards is a battle the government hasn’t had the heart to see through.”
Britain bounces back
It says High Street and shopping centre activity is picking up, while traffic has almost returned to normal levels, helped by the “ever-dependable White Van Man back out on the road.”
The Sun argues it would be “churlish” not to celebrate, but admits to remaining concerned about the future of offices, as well as the cleaners, shop owners and transport employees who depend on their survival for work.
A photograph of Steve Bannon is featured prominently by the Times, after Donald Trump’s former chief strategist was charged with fraud. The paper says he was arrested on a boat off the coast of Connecticut, before pleading not guilty at a virtual hearing to defrauding donors who had contributed to a campaign raising funds to build a border wall with Mexico.
Palace guard bearskin hats ‘under threat’
The iconic bearskin hats worn by Buckingham Palace Guardsmen are under threat, according to the Daily Express, which claims to exclusively reveal that the government is drawing up plans to “raise standards even further”, two decades after fur farming was banned in the UK.
The animal welfare minister, Lord Goldsmith, is said to be keen to introduce “tough new laws” once Britain has left the EU, which could also see an end to the ermine worn in the upper chamber of parliament.
A spokesman for the British Fur Trade Association has told the paper it “beggars belief” that in the middle of a pandemic and a catastrophic recession, “the government is secretly working on plans to ban the fur in people’s wardrobes.”
Finally, a number of papers cast their eye over the latest batch of places to be given protected status.
The Daily Mirror picks out a curved playpark slide on the Brunel Estate in central London – described by National Heritage as a “particularly ambitious and inventive creation.”
Historic England says its design shows influences from 17th-century English and French landscapes, but the Telegraph notes that glass-lined offices, acres of parking and a used car dealership make it “an unlikely choice.”