Newspaper headlines: 'Britain's mortgage crisis' and 'guilty party'
"Guilty party", says the front page of the Daily Mirror , alongside a still image from what it calls the "sickening" footage of the Conservative lockdown party. It quotes a relative of a Covid victim, who accuses the staffers of "dancing on the graves of those who died". The Guardian says Rishi Sunak's attempts to "move on from the legacy of Boris Johnson's chaotic premiership have suffered a further setback", after Scotland Yard said it was "considering" the video. The senior Tory MP, Tobias Ellwood, tells the online Independent that the prime minister should turn a "mini crisis" into a major opportunity beginning with "an overhaul of his cabinet". He also calls for him to be "less fearful of right-wing backlash". The front page of the Daily Mail features a plea in what it terms "Britain's mortgage crisis". Experts in the paper urge the Bank of England to "spare struggling households" by pausing what is expected to be the 13th consecutive rise in interest rates. The Daily Telegraph predicts they will go up by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday. But a Treasury source says any attempt to offer cash support to homeowners would be "self-defeating". The headline of the Daily Express says : "Taxpayer will not foot bill for mortgage bailout". The Times reports that the government is considering plans for British citizens to be prioritised for council housing. A source familiar with the proposal tells the paper migrants "shouldn't be allowed to jump the queue". But housing charity Shelter accuses ministers of "scapegoating a group of people to distract" from a shortage of social housing. According to the Sun, ministers will this week publish guidance banning schools in England from letting children change their gender if their parents object. It says teachers will be required to tell parents if their child is questioning their gender, and children who want to be called by another pronoun such as he, she or they will not be allowed to take part in competitive sport. The Financial Times says AstraZeneca is seeking to shelter itself against "mounting geopolitical tensions" by drafting plans to break out its China business and list it separately in Hong Kong. Sources say the separation might not take place, and the entity could instead be listed in Shanghai. The paper says the discussions show the "significant restructuring" some corporations "could be forced to undertake as they adapt to growing friction between China and the US". The Sun says Rebekah Vardy has launched a new "Wagatha war" against her rival, Coleen Rooney. Mrs Vardy was ordered to pay the majority of Ms Rooney's legal fees after losing her libel case, but a source tells the paper that some of the costs have risen by as much as 300% to a total of nearly 2m. They say the legal bill includes more than 2,000 for a lawyer to stay at a luxury hotel, including breakfast and drinks from the mini-bar. Daily Express Daily Mail Daily Mirror Daily Star Daily Telegraph Financial Times Guardian Independent Metro Morning Star Sun Times The i 2023 BBC.