Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
There’s a variety of stories dominating Friday’s front pages; most of which are UK political stories. Continued coverage of Nadhim Zahawi’s tax row, Rod Stewart’s call on the Tories to step down and the doomed HS2 rail project that has been blighted by soaring inflation.
UK politics latest
The government have not denied a report on the front page of The Sun, which claims that HS2 might not reach central London, but instead at a new stop in west London. It means commuters would need to use the Tube line to reach central. The paper says the project is blighted by soaring inflation.
The Guardian reports on the suggestion by the head of HMRC that Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi did not make an innocent error in his tax affairs. The paper says Mr Zahawi is under pressure to reveal the source of about £30m of unsecured loans made to his wife’s UK property company. The paper’s main story however, reports on an angry reaction to a decision by the government to row back on a series of commitments made in the wake of the Windrush scandal.
Nicola Sturgeon’s trans laws leads the Daily Telegraph this morning. The paper says her laws are in disarray after she was forced to announce that a rapist who now identifies as female would be moved into a male prison – after receiving fierce backlash. The paper quotes critics saying the row highlights the risk of the SNP’s proposal to allow people to self-identify their legal gender without a medical diagnosis.
The Daily Mail previews a speech to be made by the chancellor today – setting out plans to boost economic growth. The paper claims the chancellor will “make the case for optimism” and hit out at the “declinism” of Labour.
The Times says foreign students will be allowed to work longer hours under plans to boost the economy by plugging vacancies in areas such as hospitality and retail. The paper says Rishi Sunak is concerned that he will struggle to fulfil a pledge that the economy will grow this year unless the government can deal with the surge in job vacancies.
Long-standing Tory support Rod Stewart is pictured on the front pages of several newspapers after the music star phoned Sky news to call for a change of government. During the call he expressed heartbreak at the state of the NHS and said it was time for Labour to “have a go.”
In a reference to one of the star’s songs, the Times has a picture of him on stage with the caption: ‘I do want to talk about it.’
“Legend savages Tories” is the Daily Mirror’s headline. The Telegraph says it will be a blow to Rishi Sunak – coming just three years after Sir Rod congratulated Boris Johnson on his election victory.
