Today’s news summary – Paper Talk: Jenrick quits & BoJo says sorry over Covid deaths
Thursday’s front pages lead with the resignation of immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who quit after the government announced its latest Rwanda plans – they didn’t go far enough for Jenrick.
The front pages also leave room for Boris Johnson’s appearance at the Covid inquiry.
‘Tories in turmoil’
The Guardian says the Conservatives are in turmoil following the resignation of Robert Jenrick. He quit after concluding the government’s emergency bill on the Rwanda deportation plans was a “triumph of hope over experience”.
The Daily Telegraph says Jenrick failed in his attempt to persuade Rishi Sunak to give ministers powers to “ignore the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The FT says the bill ignores “swathes of international law” but supporters of the PM say it is “at the max” of what he could do.
The Daily Express reports that the PM’s “first test” on the draft Rwanda bills is expected to come next week when MPs have their initial vote. Some want the Commons to sit over Christmas so it can pass through Parliament as soon as possible. The i newspaper’s Katy Balls points out the prime minister has suffered his first defeat in the Commons this week and “the worry for ministers is that it could be the beginning of a trend”. The Guardian says Jenrick will return to the backbenches “trying to make waves as another standard bearer for the right”.
‘Sorry for your loss’
Boris Johnson is pictured on many of the front pages. The former prime minister appeared at the Covid inquiry to be questioned over his handling of the pandemic.
Metro paraphrases his apology for its headline: “Sorry for your loss.” The Mirror says: “The dead can’t hear your apologies.” The Sun says Boris “fought back tears” as he recalled the “Covid-raged” year of 2020. The Daily Star has no sympathy for the former PM, instead, it uses its front page to show a picture of Johnson with a Pinocchio-style long nose.
The i newspaper dissects the performance of Johnson and the lead counsel to the inquiry Hugo Keith KC. The paper says all Johnson gave was an “endless stream of words, none of them providing any clarity.”
The Mirror’s editorial accuses him of “selective amnesia over key questions”. The Guardian says he is an “unreliable witness.” In the Daily Mail, Keith is likened to “one of those chaps in the Old Spice ads” by Quentin Letts – adding “his polished scepticism fell on hard ground” because “Boris had, for once, done his homework”.