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Editorial 28.11.24


A variety of topics feature on the front page. Several front pages cover the new allegations against the late Mohammed Al-Fayed. Police have said 90 women have now come forward with allegations, including an allegation from someone who – at the time – was “just 13.” 

Domestic news features on the rest of the papers including the latest from No 10 and the UK-wide hunt for the Euromillions jackpot winner!  

Elsewhere, most of the papers reflect on the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah which came into effect in Lebanon in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The back pages are dominated by Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League. 


‘Mohamed Al Fayed accusations’


‘Police believe he may have raped and abused more than 111 women over nearly four decades,’ says The Guardian.

The Guardian says police believe Al Fayed may have “raped and abused more than 111 women over nearly four decades and that his youngest victim was just 13 years old.” The paper says the scale of the criminality would make Al Fayed one of Britain’s “most notorious sex offenders, and raises urgent questions about how he got away with his crimes.”

‘Associates of Al Fayed being probed,’ reports the Mirror.

The Daily Mirror says associates of the late Al Fayed are “being probed on claims they enabled his sex abuse”. Police say 90 women have come forward including one who was – at the time – “just 13”, the paper adds. 


‘Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire’ 


‘Most significant development in the region,’ says The Guardian.

The Guardian features an image of Lebanese people returning south after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel came into effect on Wednesday. The paper says the ceasefire is the “most significant development” in the effort to calm regional tensions. 

‘Now there is a push for a ceasefire in Gaza,’ says the i.

The i says there is now a push for a Gaza ceasefire following the ‘fragile’ ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The paper also notes the UK has said it would arrest Netanyahu if he steps foot in Britain. 

‘Heading home,’ many of the newspapers feature images of people returning home after the ceasefire.

The FT also features an image of Lebanese people returning to southern Beirut after the ceasefire.

The Times says “Beirut cheers,” The Sun features an image of people smiling as they head home. The Daily Express carries a picture of traffic with the headline “heading home in the ruins.” 

Several papers note the truce is “fragile”. 


‘Tories got immigration wrong’


‘Badenoch says Tories got immigration wrong,’ highlights the Telegraph.

The Daily Telegraph leads with comments from leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch who said her party “got it wrong” on immigration in her first “major speech”. Badenoch said she accepted “responsibility” for the failure of the last government to bring down net migration and pledged to “rebuild trust” with voters, the paper adds. 

‘Badenoch signals tough new Tory approach to immigration,’ writes the Mail.

The Daily Mail says Badenoch’s comments signalled a “tough new Tory approach to immigration as she declared: Britain is not a hotel – it’s our home.’ She said it was time to stop being “squeamish” about the negative impacts of mass immigration and act to halt it.

‘David Cameron has changed his mind on assisted dying ahead of the vote,’ says The Times.

The Times continues its coverage of the upcoming assisted dying vote on Friday. The paper says Lord Cameron has revealed he has changed his mind and now supports a bill to legalise assisted dying saying it will bring about a “meaningful reduction in human suffering.” Cameron writes in the paper that he previously opposed changing the law because he feared that “vulnerable people could be pressurised into hastening their own deaths”.

‘Releasing thousands of prisoners early will lead to rise in reoffending,’ reports the i.

The i reports on a police warning that the decision to release thousands of prisoners early will lead to a “rise in serious reoffending”. Martin Jones, chief inspector, tells the paper that it is “inevitable” that some of the 2,800 inmates released from jail will go on to commit “violent, sexual or domestic abuse offences.”

‘Nationwide hunt for £177 million lotto winner,’ says The Metro. 

The Metro reports on the search for a lottery winner in the UK that won a massive £177 million fortune.

Sarah Wilkinson
Sarah Wilkinson@swilkinsonbc
The “ceasefire” in Lebanon shatters Netanyahu’s illusions regarding his domination of the Middle East: a Lebanese man tears down the israeli flag
Carol Voderman
Carol Voderman@carolvorders
Telegraph’s Alison Pearson’s “version“ of her visit by Essex police, proven false by transcripts from the body cams from the officers involved, has now been conceded as false. She now claims that she “misheard”.
Zarah Sultana
Zarah Sultana@ZarahSultana
My thoughts are with those affected by Storm Bert & I thank our emergency services on the frontline. With extreme weather rising due to climate change, fire services need urgent funding. England is the only part of the UK without a statutory duty for flooding. This must change.

Don’t expect Budget rethink, Rachel Reeves implies

Rachel Reeves has implied she won’t rethink her Budget measures in the wake of backlash from business, saying: “We’ve made our decisions.”

The Chancellor appeared at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s annual conference on Monday in a fireside chat with Keith Anderson, the chief executive of Scottish Power.

She was asked by ITV about the “unintended consequences” of her fiscal event, and whether she would “rethink any of the measures that you’ve announced?”

Reeves said: “It’s really important that the sums add up, and I’m determined to be the Chancellor that puts our public finances on a firm footing after all the instability that we’ve faced these last few years.

https://www.cityam.com/weve-made-our-decisions-dont-expect-budget-rethink-reeves-implies/

Consumer confidence in the economy dips following Budget

Consumer confidence in the health of the economy dipped in November, a new survey shows, as the Budget failed to allay households’ economic fears.

The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) sentiment monitor showed that consumers’ confidence in the economy fell back to -19 in November, down two points from October.

The reading confirms that households’ optimism in the economy remained relatively depressed throughout the autumn, having improved significantly earlier in the year. In July, following Labour’s election, the reading briefly strayed into positive territory.

https://www.cityam.com/consumer-confidence-in-the-economy-dips-following-budget/

Employer national insurance raid could lead to 130,000 jobs being slashed

The government’s hike to employers’ national insurance could cost as many as 130,000 jobs, according to new research.

Analysis from Bloomberg Economics suggests that up to 130,000 jobs could be lost if firms responded to the tax hike primarily by cutting employment.

This would amount to a 0.4 percentage point increase in unemployment, and would likely encourage the Bank of England to cut interest rates faster than markets anticipate.

The analysts did not think this was the most likely outcome, suggesting that the cost of higher taxes would likely be distributed more evenly across wages, margins and prices.

Employer national insurance raid could lead to 130,000 jobs being slashed



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