Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Tuesday’s front pages are dominated by the pressure on home secretary Suella Braverman amid the migrant crisis.
Suella Braverman should resign
The i newspaper reports that some Cabinet ministers are questioning whether she should resign. The paper quotes a former Tory adviser who says the “level of briefing” against her from within the Home Office suggests her relationship with civil servants has “completely disintegrated”.
Suella Braverman’s comments about a migrant “invasion” appear on several of the front pages. The Daily Mirror says it was “irresponsible” of her to use such language – and questions why she is still in the job.
The Times reports that some senior Tory MPs have told them that she risks fuelling support for the far-right extremists – with one source describing her as “facile, totally uncompassionate and insincere”.
The Daily Mail calls her comments “remarkably stark” but argues she came out “fighting” in the Commons after a tough week. The paper says her supporters think she’s a victim of a witch hunt by the left.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times questions why the home secretary was so forthright in her denial that she opposed buying up hotel rooms to ease overcrowding at the Manston migrant processing centre. One former minister believes “it will get judicially reviewed” and “at that point, all of the paper trails will come out so we’ll see who’s right”.
The Metro’s front page leads on revelations that 4,000 migrants have been crammed into holding centres built for just 1,500 people. It says the report says many have been forced to sleep on the floor.
£50bn fiscal black hole
The Telegraph says the chancellor is weighing up a 50/50 mix of tax rises and spending cuts to balance the books in his Autumn statement. The paper says the measures would be to fill a “£50bn fiscal black hole.” One option that is being considered is to freeze income tax and National Insurance thresholds for longer.
The Daily Express calls it a “stealth tax raid”, as one Treasury source admits “it’s going to be rough”.
The Crown controversy
The Sun leads on claims the Crown ignored pleas from Prince William not to create the controversial interview his mother, Princess Diana, gave to the BBC in 1995.
It’s expected to feature prominently in two episodes of the new series – with “exaggerated language” and “made up sections of conversation”.
