Editorial 06.10.24
Sunday’s newspaper headlines reflect a variety of domestic and international stories. Several papers look ahead to the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks in Israel, and the subsequent war in Gaza and invasion of Lebanon. The prime minister has urged calm and says a year of war has spread hatred around the UK. There are expected to be protests and counter-protests tomorrow.
Domestic politics features on the front page and reports covering cancer research and showbiz news.
‘Year of War’
‘PM calls for all parties to act with restraint,’ says the Sunday Times.
Sir Keir Starmer tells the Sunday Times that the Middle East conflict risks igniting “touchpapers in our own communities.” The PM has called on all parties to “act with restraint and return to political, not military, solutions.”
Looking ahead to the anniversary, the prime minister writes that one year ago, we were unaware the Middle East was about to be “plunged into a new and terrible darkness.” He goes on to call out the “vile hatred” which has been seen against Jews and Muslims since then.
‘Hamas attack was a punch to the soul,’ claims the Sunday Telegraph.
The Sunday Telegraph features a photo of Itay and Hadar Berdichevsky who Hamas killed during the October 7 attacks. Inside, the paper speaks to historian Simon Schama. He says he has “long chronicled the suffering of the Jewish people” but that nothing had prepared him for the attack by Hamas, describing it as a “punch to the soul”.
‘Religious leaders call for the people to unite,’ reports The Observer and Express.
The Observer and the Sunday Express report on messages from major faith leaders in Britain ahead of the anniversary. The paper says the faith leaders have united to reject prejudice.
‘Mother of kidnapped says she cannot sleep,’ writes the Mail.
The Mail on Sunday reports on some of the people whose children were kidnapped by Hamas during the attack. One woman tells the paper she “cannot sleep” and “every night I’m thinking of them.”
‘UK govt investing in cancer blood test’
‘Labours private school VAT may be delayed,’ suggests The Observer.
The Observer is amongst the newspapers to lead on UK politics. The paper says Labour’s plans to impose 20% VAT on private school fees may not proceed in January due to “warnings from unions, tax experts and school leaders”.
Organisations within the education sector are said to be pushing for a delay until September to give the schools more time to adapt. But a Treasury statement has denied such plans saying there has been no change to the date.
‘UK govt to invest in cancer test which could detect symptoms before they develop,’ says the Mirror.
The Sunday Mirror reports the UK government is planning to invest in a blood test which could detect the twelve most common types of cancer before symptoms start to develop.
‘Irish politicians honey-trapped by Russia to undermine relations during Brexit,’ report The Times.
The Times reports that Russian intelligence used a “honeytrap” to recruit an Irish politician as an agent for the Kremlin during Brexit talks. It says one of the plans was to undermine relations between Britain, Ireland and the EU. The paper says the Irish military and security service have identified the agent but, according to the paper, they are “still at large” in the country’s parliament.