Editorial Wednesday 13 March 2024. 

A variety of, mostly domestic, topics dominate the UK front pages this Wednesday. The latest from the UK political scene makes a few of the splashes, as the government admitted comments made by one of the party’s biggest donors were racist. 

Conservative Party donor Frank Hester allegedly told a group of staff in 2019 that MP Diane Abbott made him want to “hate all black women”. He went on to say she “should be shot.” It’s alleged during the same meeting he went on to make further racist comments. 

Government policy also makes the papers, with an update on the Rwanda policy and Labour’s stance on assisted dying. 

Several papers also cover the funeral parlour scandal. An investigation is underway into a family funeral director in Hull over “concern for care of the deceased.” 

‘Tory donor racist remarks’ 

The Guardian’s lead reports No 10 described the alleged remarks made by businessman and Tory party donor Frank Hester as “racist and wrong.” The paper notes ministers initially stopped short of describing the remarks as racist. It also carries a follow-up report alleging during the meeting, Hester asked whether there was “no room for the Indians” and suggested that staff climb onto a train roof. 

The i newspaper says No 10’s admission comes after the prime minister came under pressure from top Tories, with Kemi Badenoch amongst those to first break ranks and call Hester’s remarks racist. The paper describes it as a u-turn.

The Mirror’s front page notes Abbott has filed a complaint to the police. In a statement, Abbot said it was “frightening” and “alarming”, especially as two MPs – Jo Cox and Sir David Amess – have been murdered in recent years. She said: “I am a single woman and that makes me vulnerable anyway. But to hear someone talking like this is worrying.”

‘BoJo to join campaign trail’ 

The Daily Express reports on former PM Boris Johnson, who is set to hit the campaign trail at the next general election in support of what the paper calls “hard-won” Brexit freedoms. The paper says Johnson wants to fight to protect the ‘red wall’ seats in the north of England and the Midlands that the party won from Labour in the 2019 general election. The paper says that Johnson is not expected to appear on the stump with successor Rishi Sunak – the man most Johnson loyalists blame for his downfall. 

The Daily Telegraph says Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has promised MPs that they will get a vote on legalising assisted dying if Labour wins the next general election. Sir Keir told ITV News that he would like a vote on the issue during the next parliament, meaning the law could be changed before the end of the decade. 

The government’s flagship Rwanda policy also makes a few front pages. 

The Times says ministers have drawn up a voluntary scheme to encourage people whose asylum claims in the UK have failed to move to Rwanda. Tens of thousands of people who cannot return to their own country could be given up to £3000 to go to Rwanda. 

The Express headlines it as: “Illegal migrants will be offered thousands to move to Rwanda.”

‘Funeral home horror’ 

More than 1,000 people have contacted a police hotline set up as part of an investigation into a family funeral director in Hill, according to the Daily Mail. The paper says cops have removed 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes from Legacy Independent Funeral Directors over “concern for care of the deceased”.

The paper says many families whose loved ones were handled by the firm are agonising “over whether the bodies were ever actually cremated or if they received the wrong ashes”.

The Mirror also leads on the story. One woman tells the paper she fears for what was done with the remains of both her father and brother. She goes on to describe the situation as being “like something out of a horror movie.”