Editorial 06 August 2024.
Tuesday’s front pages lead heavily with two stories: the ongoing riots and violence across towns and cities in the UK and Team GB athlete Keely Hodgkison winning Gold at the Olympics.
Several of the papers cover the backlash facing American billionaire Elon Musk for his ‘reckless’ comments claiming that a civil war was ‘inevitable’ in the UK – even though it’s a small minority of far-right thugs and the majority of violence, racism and looting from them has been widely condemned across the political spectrum and the nation. Musk is among several online celebrities that have been accused of whipping up fear.
The back pages continue the Paris 2024 coverage.
‘UK riots leave Brits too scared to leave home’
The Guardian reports on the attack at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham over the weekend. The former head of Counter Terrorism Policing Neil Basu says the attack should be treated as an act of terrorism as he condemns the rioters as “bullies and cowards.”
The Mirror reflects on the violence, speaking to people targetted by rioters in Middlesbrough over the weekend. “Too scared to leave our homes,” the paper says.
The Metro’s lead story continues to focus on the disorder across parts of the UK as the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, says there is a “standing army” of specialist police officers. “Supercops get the call-up” is the splash headline.
The i newspaper’s opinion piece describes Musk’s views as “irksome.” The paper says it is more disturbed by what it calls a “malignant sump of online hate” as it refers to a far-right group on the messaging app Telegram which it says was seeking to provoke attacks on specific “immigration-linked law firms and advice centres”.
The Mail reports on comments from Downing Street slapping down Musk’s claims.
The Times argues, under the headline “policy vacuum”, that as well as rebuking the far-right hooligans, PM Starmer’s government must undermine their cause by tackling the UK’s flawed immigration system.
‘Stock markets crash’
The FT leads on the tumble in global stocks. The front page has a big red graph showing the fall. One senior analyst is quoted saying the market “moved from a warm summer’s day, straight into autumn. The Telegraph reports the FTSE 100 suffered in biggest fall in a year after fears over the strength of the US economy. The Times says ‘recession fears’ have knocked £40bn off the FTSE 100.
The front page of the i newspaper looks at what the market turmoil means for you and your finances.
‘Keely Hodgkinson wins Gold at Olympics’
Almost all front pages feature an image of British Olympic athlete Keely Hodgkinson celebrating her Olympic gold medal in the 800m in Paris.
The Telegraph features Keely holding a Union Flag in one hand and a crown in the other. The paper calls her “Queen Keely.” The Daily Express calls her gold win “sensational.” The i newspaper says Keely won gold ‘in style’. The Mail says she cruised to victory whilst The Guardian calls her ‘brilliant’.