The Guardian – Two children dead and nine injured in ferocious attack at dance class
Two children were killed in a knife attack in Southport and nine were injured, The Guardian reports. Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, said officers were called to a “ferocious” attack. The front page also reports on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to tackle the £22bn black hole in public finances. The paper reports Rachel Reeves has cut winter fuel payments for 10 million wealthier pensioners as she sought to plug a £22bn black hole in the public finances she said was “covered up” by the Conservative government, while hinting at tax rises in her first autumn budget.
An image of Team GB winning gold in cycling makes the front page. Tom Pidcock blew away his rivals with a virtuoso performance on the rough gravel of Elancourt Hill to take back-to-back gold medals in Olympic mountain biking.
Two children die and nine injured after ‘ferocious’ knife attack in Southport
Two children have died and nine have been injured, six critically, after a series of stabbings at a children’s dance class in Southport on Monday.
Two adults are also in critical condition after what police described as a “ferocious attack”.
The stabbings took place at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class at the Hart Space, a studio that also hosts antenatal and hypnobirthing classes, in the north-west seaside town.
Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside police, said a man armed with a knife had entered the class and started to attack the children at about 11.47am on Monday.
“When [officers] arrived, they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries,” she said.
“We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”
Reeves moves fast to tackle £22bn budget shortfall ‘covered up’ by Tories
Rachel Reeves has cut winter fuel payments for 10 million wealthier pensioners as she sought to plug a £22bn black hole in the public finances she said was “covered up” by the Conservative government, while hinting at tax rises in her first autumn budget.
The chancellor also shelved the long-delayed cap on what people would pay for social care as she ignited a bonfire of Tory policies she said would be needed to deal with the deficit, telling MPs: “If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it.”
Yet almost half of the shortfall, £9.4bn, was a result of her decision to fund above-inflation public-sector pay recommendations in full, helping to reverse years of declining wages and see off the threat of industrial action.
‘It’s bigger than cycling’: Tom Pidcock defies puncture to claim Olympic gold
Tom Pidcock blew away his rivals with a virtuoso performance on the rough gravel of Elancourt Hill to take back-to-back gold medals in Olympic mountain biking. In an epic battle with France’s Victor Koretzky, Pidcock pulled off the performance of his career, fighting back from a puncture and a clumsy wheel change to snatch gold at the very last.
“This is what makes the Olympics to me, the fact that it’s bigger than cycling,” Pidcock said, three years after winning his first gold in Tokyo. “People back home, they get into the Olympic spirit, they celebrate every gold medal but the biggest thing is to inspire people. That is what I love to do. Hopefully I did that today.”
Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
If you are someone who reads every perspective of a story, here is a news summary of all of today’s front pages from today’s newspapers; summarised in a 2-minute read
Editorial 30 July 2024.
Most of Tuesday’s front pages lead on the knife attack on children at a holiday club in Southport. Two children have died and nine injured after a knifeman entered a dance class and started the attack. A 17-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. It’s not yet known what the motive is but it’s not believed to be terror-related.
Chancellor Reeves’s cuts and tax plans to plug the £20bn black hole in the public finances is another popular lead for the papers, with the papers offering up their assessments of the chancellor’s plans.
Former BBC presenter Huw Edwards is pictured on most of the front pages after it was announced he has been arrested for making indecent images of children.
There is also plenty of Olympics coverage as Team GB had a spectacular Monday – bagging their first gold medals in Paris.