Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Paper Talk: Army on standby as Met cops hand in guns in protest
Many of Monday’s newspapers report on the news that the Army is on standby after a number of armed Met police officers turned in their weapons in response to a fellow Met cop being charged with the murder of Chris Kaba.
Other papers continue their coverage of the government’s reported plans to scrap a leg of HS2 – the Manchester to Birmingham leg.
The Guardian says the SAS are giving counter-terrorism support to Scotland Yard, while the Times says some firearms officers from other forces are understood to have declined to provide assistance to the Met.
The Telegraph quotes an unnamed firearms officer as saying: “If something goes wrong you can end up on trial for murder looking at serving a life sentence. Is there any wonder they are saying ‘I’m out’?”
HS2 scrapping northern link
Some of the newspapers look at the plans to scrap part of the HS2 line – the northern link. Former chancellor George Osbourne writes in the Times that reducing or giving up on the rail link would mean abandoning the north and Midlands – and represents an “act of huge economic self-harm.”
A prominent Conservative donor, who spoke to the Guardian, who wishes to remain anonymous has threatened to stop supporting the Tory party if the northern section is axed.
For the Mail, the paper argues that the cost of completing what it calls the “shambolic” scheme is going to be eye-watering, the alternative scenario would be saddling the country with a catastrophic white elephant.
The Sun newspaper suggests the project has been derailed and says a more efficient rail alternative for northern England – which could be delivered sooner and at a fraction of the cost – would be a far better deal.
Marcus Rashford car crash
Away from the two main stories, the Financial Times reports that Lego – the world’s largest toymaker has abandoned plans to swap oil-based bricks for a new material, derived from recycled plastic bottles – after discovering that the replacement led to higher carbon emissions.
The Mirror and the Sun lead on the car crash footballer Marcus Rashford was involved in. The papers say the Manchester United star jumped out of his £700,000 Rolls Royce after a crash – to check whether the other driver had been hurt. The paper says the “two-and-a-half ton Roller” hit another car, a bollard, a post and a traffic island. The Sun newspaper headlines its story as “Rashy hits the post.”