Editorial 09.03.2025
Sunday’s newspaper front pages lead with various stories ranging from Russia spy plots to Labour’s plans to tackle anti-social behaviour to Liam Gallagher’s love-child drama.
In typical Sunday coverage, there’s no real lead story dominating the news today and instead a mixture of predominantly domestic news.
The back pages report on yesterday’s Premier League action, France beating Ireland in the Six Nations and look ahead to today’s Manchester United vs Arsenal Premier League match.
UK marks Covid 5 years on
‘Analysis suggests UK handled crisis worse than many other developed nations,’ says The Observer.
As the UK marks five years since the start of the Covid pandemic with a national day of reflection, The Observer examines the country’s response. The paper’s analysis suggests that Britain handled the crisis worse than many other developed nations, despite spending heavily on economic support. It highlights a larger drop in life expectancy and an increase in people too sick to work compared to other countries.
‘Russian spy wanted to create priavte army to control migration,’ says The Telegraph.
For the second day in a row, The Telegraph leads with its investigation into Jan Marsalek, the fugitive behind a Russian spy ring in Britain. Marsalek – who faces no charges in the UK – wanted to create a private army to control migration into Europe.
‘Farage defends dicisions to suspend one of Reform’s MPs,’ adds the Sunday Telegraph.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage warns against internal divisions within Reform UK, defending his decision to suspend one of the party’s five MPs.
‘Commons vote on Labour’s anti-social crackdown plans,’ reports the Sunday Mirror.
The Sunday Mirror focuses on an upcoming Commons vote on Labour’s plans to crack down on persistent anti-social behavior offenders by banning them from town centers. The government’s proposed “Respect Orders,” backed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, aim to restore trust in policing.
‘Extremist content from asylum seeker who crossed channel this week,’ reports the Mail on Sunday.
The Mail on Sunday reports that a Palestinian asylum seeker who crossed the Channel this week and was picked up by UK Border Force has shared extremist content online, including calls for violence against Jewish people.
‘Local councils spend billions on refugee support schemes,’ reports the Sunday Express.
Asylum policy also dominates The Sunday Express, which reveals that the UK government and local councils have spent £6.6bn over five years on refugee support schemes. The paper highlights expenses such as trips to the zoo, tennis lessons, and sandwich deliveries.
’40 female prison staff sacked for relationships with inmates,’ reports the Sunday People.
The Sunday People exposes misconduct in the prison service, revealing that 40 female staff members have been sacked in the last four years for having relationships with inmates. The headline story features 26-year-old Katie Evans, recently jailed for her involvement with a prisoner at HMP Doncaster.
‘Pro-Palestinian group claimed responsibilyty for 350 attacks since 2020,’ reports The Sunday Times.
An investigation by The Sunday Times uncovers sabotage against UK defence firms supplying weapons to the military. It reports that the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for over 350 attacks on businesses, universities, and local government buildings since 2020. The group also vandalised one of Donald Trump’s golf courses in Scotland this weekend, saying its goal is to eliminate Israeli weapons factories in Britain.
‘Liam Gallagher in fresh legal battle over child support payments,’ says The Sun.
And finally, The Sun reveals that Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher is embroiled in a fresh legal battle over child support payments, with a claim lodged against him in New York. The case follows a previous legal dispute that was settled.