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7 months ago
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All of Saturday's front pages splash on different stories, with the Daily Express reporting on the Royal Family. "Queen Camilla to the rescue", it says in its lead, which reports that she is "ready to take on even more royal duties" as King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales continue to recover from recent health issues. The Queen will lead the Royal Family at Monday's Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, and has received praise for a "tremendous" sense of duty, the paper adds.
"Budget falls flat as Tories lose votes to Reform" is the headline from the i, which reports the results of a poll conducted by the paper following Wednesday's Budget. The survey suggests that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's announcements are supported by 20% of the public but opposed by 39%. The paper reports that support for Reform UK is at a "new high", with Labour on course for a "landslide" in the general election. A different type of budget is teased below the splash, with the headline: "I spend £55,000 a year on my 31 dogs."
An exclusive health story makes the lead for the Guardian, which reports that private hospitals are doing one in 10 of all planned NHS operations, as patients continue to face long waits for treatment. Figures seen by the paper show that the "NHS in England outsourced 10% of elective procedures such as hip replacements to private operators for the first time during 2023". The figures from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network have prompted campaigners to warn that more of the NHS' services are being "cannibalised" after years of underinvestment, the paper says.
The Daily Telegraph leads with a story on Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, who the paper reports has been accused of a "conflict of interest after overriding officials to give £250,000 to a Gaza aid agency while his family was trapped in the warzone". Mr Yousaf, whose parents-in-law spent four weeks trapped in Gaza last year, overruled official advice on giving a donation worth £100,000 to £200,000 to Unicef, the paper says. It reports that he instead donated £250,000 on the same day as he met UN aid officials, and the following day his in-laws safely left Gaza. The first minister has denied that the donation was in any way connected to the release of his family.
Pictures of the Duchess of Sussex feature prominently on some of Saturday's front pages, namely the Telegraph and the Daily Mail, after she appeared at an International Women's Day event in Texas on Friday. As for the Mail's lead story, it reports that four former defence secretaries have backed its campaign seeking further funding for the Armed Forces. The paper is launching its campaign, Don't Leave Britain Defenceless, on Saturday in response to "the growing threats around the world", as Britain faces "a gathering storm of a possible war with Russia, a widening conflict in the Middle East and the rising threat of China".
"We've lost faith in justice" is the headline on the Times' interview with the mothers of two students fatally stabbed in Nottingham last summer. Dr Sinéad O'Malley-Kumar and Emma Webber, whose children Grace and Barnaby, along with Ian Coates, were attacked and killed by Valdo Calocane, tell the paper they have lost faith in the justice system after Calocane avoided a murder trial and was given a hospital order in January. "We're going to get justice for our children," Dr O'Malley-Kumar says, who along with the Webber and Coates families, is seeking a public inquiry into the decision not to prosecute Calocane for murder.
In the Daily Mirror, Mel B weighs in on the controversy surrounding the husband of fellow Spice Girl Geri Horner. Melanie Brown says all the band members have reached out to Geri, in the wake of a now-dismissed internal investigation by Red Bull into her husband Christian Horner, the F1 team's principal, over alleged inappropriate behaviour. "That's my friend, and I just want to protect her," Brown says, adding that is it "horrible" to see her former bandmate caught up in the scandal.
The Financial Times reflects International Women's Day on its front page with a triumphant photo of demonstrators in France, all dressed in national colours, alongside its lead story on inflation. "Central bankers in Europe and the US have moved closer to declaring victory over the biggest inflation surge in a generation, with new data giving policymakers confidence they can cut rates in the next few months," the paper reports.
"We'd sooner just look like Homer Simpson" is the Daily Star's response to a new diet which promises to "blast belly fat" - and which dictates a list of food best suited to lose weight under the regime. "Men can lose their beer bellies by eating just 800 calories for five days a month," the paper's splash says, declaring - with a hint of scepticism - the "end of the beer belly".
And the Sun continues its reporting on Lotto winner Gillian Bayford, who scooped £148m in the Euromillions in 2012 along with her former husband. The paper's lead story reports that Ms Bayford, now married to Brian Deans, has "kicked out her hubby after he squandered millions" from her share of the fortune. It adds that Mr Deans "splurged on cars, holidays, watches and five-star football trips for pals".
The Guardian has seen figures that show private hospitals are carrying out one in 10 of all planned NHS operations in England. That is an increase of almost 50% since before the pandemic.
The paper says campaigners have warned that the health service is being "cannibalised" because years of underinvestment mean it can no longer provide care quickly. It also says the surge in private operations has prompted fears that a two-tier system is developing, with access to vital care increasingly dictated by the wealth of patients. NHS England says it is "working closely with private providers to maximise use of all available capacity for patients".
Scotland's first minister has been accused of a conflict of interest, according to the Telegraph after he overrode officials to donate £250,000 of taxpayers' money to the main UN aid agency in Gaza while his family was trapped in the warzone. Humza Yousaf is reported to have rejected advice to donate a smaller sum to the UN's children's agency, telling officials that since he was about to meet a delegation from UNRWA, "we should just announce an extra £250,000 to them".
A spokesman for Mr Yousaf says UNWRA had "no role" in the situation regarding his in-laws, and any suggestion of a conflict of interest is "completely untrue". But the Telegraph's leader column insists the first minister still "has questions to answer" and calls on him to "be fully transparent" about why he went against official advice.
Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar
The mothers of two students who were stabbed to death in Nottingham last year have told the Times they have lost faith in the justice system, after the killer avoided a murder trial. Valdo Calocane was given an indefinite hospital order for the manslaughters of Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, as well as a school caretaker Ian Coates. In what the Times describes as an "emotional" first joint interview given to a newspaper, Dr Sinéad O'Malley-Kumar and Emma Webber say they have been failed by the police and prosecutors.
The Mail says four former Conservative defence secretaries have backed its demand for an immediate boost to spending on the Armed Forces. Sir Michael Fallon, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Sir Gavin Williamson and Lord Hammond have all joined the paper's "Don't Leave Britain Defenceless" campaign calling for spending to rise to a minimum of 2.5% of national income, so the UK can deter further Russian aggression and counter growing threats around the world. The Mail's leader column says the chancellor's failure to increase the defence budget in this week's Budget was "simply unforgivable". The government says it is spending a record amount on defence.
Theresa May's decision to stand down as an MP at the general election provokes reflections on her career from a number of papers. The Express says she was dealt a difficult hand with Brexit when she was prime minister, "but her integrity was never in question". The Mirror calls her time in Downing Street "wretched" but says "she has redeemed her reputation by being a diligent backbencher".
And the Sun praises Mrs May's dedicated public service over decades, including long after leaving No 10. "On that," it says, "she puts other PMs to shame."
