Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Thursday’s front pages are heavily dominated by the expected announcement by the home secretary, to set up an offshore facility in Rwanda, to process some migrants trying to get to the UK.
Asylum seekers to be sent to Rwanda
“Landmark immigration deal,” is how the Telegraph describes it, while the Daily Express suggests it’s a “radical blueprint” to stop thousands of people making “perilous” crossing of the Channel in small boats.
The Mail’s headline is “Rwanda plan to smash the Channel gangs.” In its opinion column the idea is welcomed, suggesting it could “break the business model” of human traffickers. “Why would anyone,” the paper asks, “pay criminals huge sums to risk their lives in a vulnerable vessel – that lands you thousands of miles from Britain?”
The Huffpost UK website says the plan has “prompted fury” among charities and human rights groups.
Partygate scandal
For the Guardian, the headline is “Johnson may face three more fines in party scandal.” The paper says the revelation has come from a “senior source” and suggests Downing Street is bracing for a “potential storm” when MPs return following the Easter break. The Mirror leads on the same story with the headline warning that the “worst is yet to come, PM”.
The i’s analysis piece focuses on the resignation of justice minister Lord Wolfson over Partygate and says the scandal “is about more than just birthday cake.” The paper counters the argument that the PM shouldn’t be unseated during the Ukraine crisis – by quoting Lord Wolfson’s letter. “To credibly defend democratic norms abroad, the party must be resolutely committed both to the observance of the law and also to the rule of law,” it read.
The Financial Times reports on the parallels between the loyalty of many Tory MPs to the PM and the widespread support for Donald Trump among Republicans in the USA. . “There is a warning to Britain’s ruling Conservative party in the path trodden by their political soulmates across the Atlantic,” it states. “Once you surrender your commitment to core values, it is hard to hold onto your party”.
Matt Hancock affair
The Sun celebrates the news the government has dropped the inquiry into finding who leaked the CCTV footage of then health secretary Matt Hancock kissing an aide. The paper calls the outcome a “win for press freedom,” but expresses frustration that taxpayers’ money was spent on the investigation.