‘Slovak PM shot’ & ‘Starmer’s six fixes for Britain’ – Paper Talk
Most of Thursday’s front pages lead on domestic news, with political stories the most popular. Several front pages look ahead to the upcoming general election as Labour’s Keir Starmer sets out his plans to govern the country if his party is elected to office.
Elsewhere, many of the front pages leave space to report on the shooting of Slovakia’s prime minister. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot by a 71-year-old man in what has been described as a politically motivated attack. The PM is fighting for his life according to many of the papers – though a recent update suggests he is now in a critical but stable condition and is expected to pull through.
Most of the back pages lead on Man Utd’s 3-2 win over Newcastle in the latest Premier League match. There are also reports on Premier League plans to hold a vote on whether to scrap the controversial VAR.
‘Starmer’s six fixes for Britain’
“My six fixes for Britain,” is the headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror which leads on Sir Keir Starmer’s main priorities for a Labour government – if they are elected to No 10 later this year. In a letter to the paper’s readers, he says they’ll be choosing between – as he puts it – Tory decline and a changed Labour Party that will roll up its sleeves, do the hard graft and deliver a decade of renewal for Britain.
The Times says Starmer’s six-point plan echoes the five pledges made by Tony Blair before he won the 1997 general election.
The FT reports businesses including Rio Tinto, Siemens and Anglo American have warned the PM that curbs to overseas student numbers threaten investment. They tell Rishi Sunak that the government’s migration policies risk weakening the UK university sector, undermining a key reason for companies to invest in the country. In response, the PM’s spokesperson said this week the government had provided billions of pounds of support to higher education.
The i’s front page also touches on Starmer’s plans, calling them “Tony Blair-era pledges.”
The Daily Express reports Britons are “racing to cash in their pensions” to help ease the current cost of living crisis, according to a study by Scottish Widows.
In other domestic news, the Daily Telegraph accuses NHS managers of destroying the careers of whistleblowers who raise concerns about patient safety. NHS England says it has recently asked all its local areas to urgently ensure that staff have easy access to information on how they can raise concerns.
The Guardian’s front page features a story about the American magician David Copperfield who has been accused by 16 women of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour. The allegations, which date from the late 1980s to 2014, have been described by a representative for Copperfield as “false and scurrilous” and “the exact opposite of who David is”.
The Metro leads on two Cancer Research UK-funded studies which have found a simple blood test can spot cancer seven years earlier – and could help prevent it.
‘Slovak PM shot, world reacts’
Many of the papers report on the Slovakian PM Robert Fico who was shot several times on Wednesday by an elderly man. Police say it was a politically motivated attack.
The Daily Mail says there are fears Russian President Vladimir Putin will exploit the attack to destabilise Slovakia. “Europe on edge” is the headline. The paper says a 71-year-old was detained at the scene – although he has not yet been formally identified.
The Guardian also leads on the story suggesting there are fears for democracy.
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An image of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico features on the front of the Times as his security team tends to him after he was shot multiple times having just left a government meeting.
The Telegraph also features a similar image of the shooting. The FT features an image of the prime minister’s security team bundling him into the car after he was shot.
The i newspaper suggests his shooting could boost his ‘pro-Putin’ political party.
