Newspaper headlines: 'Divers bring bodies ashore' and 'jobs tax looms'

BBC The Financial Times front page, 22 August — A photo of divers with a body bag is the sombre main image on the front of the Financial Times. Like most of Thursday’s front pages, it reports the recovery of the remains of five people from the wreck of the superyacht carrying UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, off the Italian island of Sicily. UK pay battles make the business daily’s main headline which says that public sector unions are challenging the new Labour government to “repair losses” from a “decade of pay cuts”.

“Labour jobs tax looms” is a headline in the Daily Telegraph, which quotes Chancellor Rachel Reeves as saying she was “shocked” by the state of public finances after official figures showed the previous government had borrowed almost £5bn more than forecast this year. “Difficult decisions” lay ahead, she added. However, the paper chooses to lead on better news: an “Alzheimer’s wonder drug” has been approved for use in the UK. Lecanemab has been found to slow cognitive decline by 27% in sufferers, the paper reports.

The Telegraph front page, 22 August — “Labour jobs tax looms” is a headline in the Daily Telegraph, which quotes Chancellor Rachel Reeves as saying she was “shocked” by the state of public finances after official figures showed the previous government had borrowed almost £5bn more than forecast this year. “Difficult decisions” lay ahead, she added. However, the paper chooses to lead on better news: an “Alzheimer’s wonder drug” has been approved for use in the UK. Lecanemab has been found to slow cognitive decline by 27% in sufferers, the paper reports.

If the Telegraph leads on good news for older Britons, the Times has got wind of potential new opportunities for the young: a possible “free movement” scheme that would allow UK citizens under the age of 30 to live and work in the EU for three years in return for reciprocal rights for their EU counterparts. Government sources have told the paper that ministers recognise they will have to “give ground” as part of a post-Brexit reset of relations. According to the paper, the new government also plans to “speed ahead with 20mph traffic zones”.

The Times front page, 22 August — If the Telegraph leads on good news for older Britons, the Times has got wind of potential new opportunities for the young: a possible “free movement” scheme that would allow UK citizens under the age of 30 to live and work in the EU for three years in return for reciprocal rights for their EU counterparts. Government sources have told the paper that ministers recognise they will have to “give ground” as part of a post-Brexit reset of relations. According to the paper, the new government also plans to “speed ahead with 20mph traffic zones”.

Labour “has no real plan to fix UK sewage crisis”, clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey warns in the i newspaper’s splash. He backs the paper’s campaign for an overhaul of the water regulator Ofwat. A photo of the dapper former frontman of legendary punk band the Undertones is upstaged, however, by one of Rachel Reeves over news that the chancellor intends to keep the two-child benefit cap in place.

The I front page, 22 August — Labour “has no real plan to fix UK sewage crisis”, clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey warns in the i newspaper’s splash. He backs the paper’s campaign for an overhaul of the water regulator Ofwat. A photo of the dapper former frontman of legendary punk band the Undertones is upstaged, however, by one of Rachel Reeves over news that the chancellor intends to keep the two-child benefit cap in place.

The Guardian’s latest take on the new government’s challenges is that there are “fresh calls” for the chancellor to end the two-child benefit cap. Leading the paper is a story about the National Crime Agency warning it may seek the extradition of people suspected of blackmailing young Britons over sexual images. “Sextortion” gangs are often based in west Africa, the paper says. On a happier note, the Black Blues Brothers, who hail from Kenya, pose in sleek suits, ties and trilby hats against a blue summer sky in Edinburgh in the Guardian’s splash photo, which celebrates the “rising stars” of the city’s fringe festival.

The Guardian front page, 22 August — The Guardian’s latest take on the new government’s challenges is that there are “fresh calls” for the chancellor to end the two-child benefit cap. Leading the paper is a story about the National Crime Agency warning it may seek the extradition of people suspected of blackmailing young Britons over sexual images. “Sextortion” gangs are often based in west Africa, the paper says. On a happier note, the Black Blues Brothers, who hail from Kenya, pose in sleek suits, ties and trilby hats against a blue summer sky in Edinburgh in the Guardian’s splash photo, which celebrates the “rising stars” of the city’s fringe festival.

Grim news leads the Daily Mirror which reports the deaths of a mother and her three children, photographed together, in a “house blaze horror” in Bradford. A man has been arrested over a “suspected arson attack”, it says. Meanwhile, for Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, “it’s divorce”.

Mirror front page, 22 August — Grim news leads the Daily Mirror which reports the deaths of a mother and her three children, photographed together, in a “house blaze horror” in Bradford. A man has been arrested over a “suspected arson attack”, it says. Meanwhile, for Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, “it’s divorce”.

Under a picture of the couple in happier times, the Daily Mail promises an exclusive look into how “J-Lo and Ben’s dream unravelled”. Most of its front page is devoted to the superyacht disaster under the headline “hope lost”.

Dail mail front page, 22 August — Under a picture of the couple in happier times, the Daily Mail promises an exclusive look into how “J-Lo and Ben’s dream unravelled”. Most of its front page is devoted to the superyacht disaster under the headline “hope lost”.

As early editions of the paper hit the streets, the identities of the five bodies recovered from the yacht have not officially been given but the Daily Express quotes its own sources as saying they include Mr Lynch and his daughter Hannah. Jeremy Hunt, Rachel Reeves’s predecessor as chancellor, says in another headline that there is “simply no reason or excuse to raise taxes”.

The Express front page, 22 August — As early editions of the paper hit the streets, the identities of the five bodies recovered from the yacht have not officially been given but the Daily Express quotes its own sources as saying they include Mr Lynch and his daughter Hannah. Jeremy Hunt, Rachel Reeves’s predecessor as chancellor, says in another headline that there is “simply no reason or excuse to raise taxes”.

One MP’s call for Taylor Swift to be awarded the freedom of the City of London for bringing Britain’s economy a £1bn boost through her Eras Tour makes the front of Metro.

The Metro front page, 22 August — One MP’s call for Taylor Swift to be awarded the freedom of the City of London for bringing Britain’s economy a £1bn boost through her Eras Tour makes the front of Metro.

Boffins get the day off in Thursday’s Daily Star as a python bares its fangs from inside a toilet bowl to illustrate a lead story about a gentleman whose private parts were snagged by a 12ft snake as he sat upon a lavatory. To dispel any doubt as to which actual parts were bitten, the paper tosses an image of a pair of plums into its flying circus of metaphors.

The Daily Star front page, 22 August — Boffins get the day off in Thursday’s Daily Star as a python bares its fangs from inside a toilet bowl to illustrate a lead story about a gentleman whose private parts were snagged by a 12ft snake as he sat upon a lavatory. To dispel any doubt as to which actual parts were bitten, the paper tosses an image of a pair of plums into its flying circus of metaphors.

Reuters Rescue personnel transport a body bag after a luxury yacht, which was carrying British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 21, 2024.

Most of the papers feature pictures on their front pages of the Italian emergency teams bringing victims of the superyacht disaster back to shore. The Daily Express describes a “grim discovery” for rescue teams, while the Daily Mail reports the captain of the Bayesian, James Cutfield, was questioned for two hours by investigators. The paper says there have been claims hatches left open contributed to the vessel’s sudden sinking. The Sun is among the papers which say the missing British entrepreneur Mike Lynch is among those who have died, but Italian authorities have not yet confirmed any names.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the medicines watchdog, the MHRA, is expected to give the green light for the breakthrough Alzheimer’s drug, Lecanemab, to be used in Britain. Tests have showed it slowed cognitive decline in sufferers by 27%. The move would mean it could be prescribed privately. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence would then decide whether it could be used on the NHS. But, the Telegraph points out, rolling it out on the NHS would require a mass expansion of diagnostic capacity, to identify who would benefit from the drug. An MHRA spokesman said a “rigorous assessment” was being completed.

The Financial Times reports that the Trades Union Congress is to push the Labour government for “pay restoration”, making up for more than a decade of real-term public sector salary cuts. Matt Wrack, the head of the Fire Brigades Union, which holds the revolving TUC presidency, has told the paper he expects delegates at a meeting next month to back a demand for broader, above-inflation pay rises. The paper says the move will add to strains between Labour and its union backers with demands for higher pay clashing with ministers’ attempts to keep a tight grip on Britain’s “straitened public finances”.

The National Crime Agency warns in the Guardian that it could seek to extradite foreign cybercriminals as part of a crackdown on “sextortion” – the blackmailing of people, mostly teenagers, who are tricked into sending sexual images online. The crime has been linked to the deaths of at least two teenagers in Britain in recent years. The agency said gangs, often based in West Africa, would not be safe from prosecution in the UK.

The Times says ministers are prepared to let young Europeans live and work in Britain as part of a wider reset with Brussels. The paper quotes government sources suggesting that, under the move, EU citizens under 30 would be allowed to live and work in the UK for up to three years. There would be a reciprocal arrangement for British citizens. Downing Street has denied it is considering such a measure.

The Daily Telegraph and the Times both report that government is set to allow councils to create more 20mph zones and low traffic neighbourhoods. The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, is quoted as telling a podcast that local authorities would have her “absolute support” to introduce the schemes. The Sun suggests Ms Haigh is abdicating her responsibility by – in its words – casually letting 20mph zones spring up randomly. It says a balance must be struck between public safety and letting drivers go about their business at reasonable speed.