Editorial 22 April 2024.
Monday’s front pages feature a variety of stories- mostly domestic political news. Several of the right-leaning papers pick up on the ongoing Rwanda plans as well as the Met Police’s antisemitism row.
Elsewhere, most papers leave space on their front page to report on Manchester United scraping through to the finals of the FA Cup.
‘Sunak under pressure’
The Guardian leads on Rishi Sunak saying the prime minister is under pressure from Tory backbenchers and peers to exempt Afghans who served alongside British forces from being deported to Rwanda. It says the concession could ease the passage of the Rwanda bill through Parliament.
“They were bound to fail”
… “And they knew it”!
The Daily Telegraph has seen leaked government documents which, it says, show the Foreign Office tried to scupper the scheme, by raising concerns it could breach human rights laws.
Sir Trevor Phillips writes in the Times, attacking how the House of Lords have handled the Rwanda bill, accusing peers of “vexing and self-indulgent behaviour.”
“They were bound to fail”, he writes, “and they knew it.” He proposes a plan for reforming the chamber, including drastically reducing its size and introducing a time limit on how long peers can serve.
The Daily Mail’s Dominic Lawson predicts that finding an airline to take the refugees to Rwanda may make the government’s current problems seem insignificant.
The Daily Express criticises Labour’s stance on Rwanda. The paper’s leader says “repeated obstruction is not constructive policy” and calls for Sir Keir Starmer to outline his alternative.
‘Met Police antisemitism row’
The i newspaper carries strong criticism of the Met Police’s handling of Gaza protests and the antisemitic row after a police officer criticised a campaigner for being “openly Jewish.” Anne McElvoy writes in the paper saying the controversy has had a “corrosive” impact on the leadership of the Met’s commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley. She argues that the force is “unclear about what conduct is lawful and where it should intervene.”
The Times has launched a crime and justice commission which it says will be a year-long inquiry into the future of the criminal justice system. The paper carries a YouGov survey suggesting half of respondents don’t trust police to solve crimes, and a third have no faith in their ability to maintain law and order.
The Mirror reports on the Stephen Lawrence case. The paper says Stephen’s mum – Baroness Lawrence has talked about the legacy of the murder of her son 31 years ago in southeast London. Doreen tells the paper that she remains as committed as ever to championing his legacy by encouraging the next generation to develop key skills and overcome barriers to getting on in life.
The Daily Star reports forecasters believe the UK is due to have some dry days – which the paper calls “an April miracle.”
The Metro reports on the radical plans for a 12-hour school day. It’s a story originally reported in the Sunday Times about a school in west London that is implementing an optional extended school day.
Away from domestic political stories, a couple of the papers look at international news.
The FT offers a gloomy assessment of the likelihood that new military aid from the US can affect the war in Ukraine. The paper has spoken to military experts, including a senior Ukrainian official who has said the arms would help “slow down the Russian advance but not stop it.”
The Sun reports claims that Moscow has been behind radar jamming which has affected thousands of British passenger flights.