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What The Papers Say.

HAYSIEHAYSIE Member Posts: 31,985
edited January 2021 in The Rail







Several of the Sunday papers report on Covid vaccination plans - and the Telegraph's headline is: "All over-18s could have jab by end of June".

Ministers, it reports, are "increasingly optimistic" that they will be able to meet this target, as the distribution of coronavirus vaccines speeds up.

Whitehall sources tell the paper that the government is looking at inoculating between 4 and 5 million people each week within months.

But the paper says that - while this is what ministers are privately aiming for - officials at the Department of Health are "reluctant to publicly acknowledge a deadline".

The Sunday Mirror accepts that the UK is doing better than many countries in rolling out the vaccines - but it thinks that "better does not mean good enough".

Its leader points out that frontline health workers face a much greater risk than most people of catching Covid-19 - and argues that they should not have to wait three months for the second booster jab.

It also believes that teachers, police and firefighters should be vaccinated as soon as possible.




"Brits are fed up to the back teeth with Covidiots breaking the rules", laments the Sun on Sunday.

More than half of the people questioned in a YouGov poll for the paper felt the police were not being tough enough on those flouting lockdown measures.

Its opinion column states that "with the NHS at breaking point, the public is in no mood to tolerate anyone who plays with the nation's health".




There are details in the Sunday Times of how England rugby star Maro Itoje is trying to give disadvantaged pupils access to laptops, so they can get the most out of home schooling.

It describes how the player - who is known by fans as "Super Maro" - has been inspired by the free school meals campaign led by the footballer, Marcus Rashford.

Itoje tells the paper: "The absolute priority right now is guaranteeing children have devices to learn."



The Mail on Sunday reports that British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is facing a "revolt" by farmers in Iceland - because he has bought "large tracts of the country's pristine wilderness", in order to secure fishing rights to rivers there.

It says Sir Jim, the founder of the Ineos chemicals group, has spent more than £36m buying farms, as part of his project to conserve North Atlantic salmon.

The Mail reports that his lack of connection to Icelandic communities has led to concern about future use of the land.

But a spokesman for an angling club run by Sir Jim tells the paper that suspicions about his motives are "ludicrous", and his sole mission is conservation.

'King of K2'
Finally, several of the front pages feature the same photo of Nirmal Purja, the former Gurkha who led a team of Nepalese Sherpas to the first successful winter ascent of the K2 peak.

He is pictured at altitude in his mountaineering gear, gazing into the distance with an enigmatic smile.

The Observer's headline is: "King of K2". It suggests the achievement marks the end of climbing as "an imperialist and colonialist enterprise" - when the Sherpas were the backbone of expeditions, but received none of the glory or benefits.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55692471

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    In Monday's papers, there is a photo on the front of the Telegraph of the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, on board the plane that took him back to Moscow yesterday.

    He is wearing a face covering - but he seems slightly startled by the journalists surrounding him, wielding cameras and smart phones.

    The headline is: "Putin's harshest critic flies into a storm".

    He is also on the front page of the Financial Times - pictured in the airport after touching down, with police officers closing in to arrest him.

    Both the Express and the Mail lead on the NHS in England starting to send letters to the over-70s, inviting them for their Covid vaccinations.

    The Mail's headline is: "Hope in the post for five million". Its leader describes the statistic - that each minute, 140 British people receive a jab - as "truly head-spinning".




    But the Express warns readers that no matter how well the vaccination programme seems to be going, "this is not the time for complacency".

    In its opinion column, the Times suggests that as the pace of inoculation increases, attention is now turning to "what new freedoms the country will enjoy".

    But it too signals a note of caution, warning ministers to do all they can to prevent new Covid variants spreading in the UK.

    It concludes that the progress made in recent days is "too exciting to squander".

    The Mirror focuses on the government's latest vaccination target, with the headline: "Jabs done by September".

    That refers to the suggestion that all adults in Britain could have been offered their first injection by the autumn.

    Its leader column states that "shortages and problems with the supply of vaccines seem to have mysteriously vanished, as ministers tout even more ambitious figures".

    And it seems sceptical about the language used by the government - pointing out that it "talks as if people given a first jab are inoculated, when immunisation is not complete until the second".

    Trump Baby Blimp
    The Guardian is one of several papers to report that a 20ft high inflatable caricature of US President Donald Trump - as a scowling infant - is being added to the Museum of London's collection.

    It explains that the orange, helium-filled "Trump Baby Blimp" was a focal point for the protests in the city, during his state visit in 2019.

    The museum's director explains that it is being included as an example of the British love of satirising politicians. The headline is: "Inflated ego".


    The Guardian also looks ahead to the Commons debate later - on whether the government should extend the temporary £20 a week boost to Universal Credit, which was introduced at the start of the pandemic.

    It says the Resolution Foundation think-tank has added its voice to those calling for the extension.

    The organisation's senior economist tells the paper that the decision "will determine whether millions of households are able to enjoy any sort of living standards recovery next year".

    In his obituary of Phil Spector, the Telegraph's music critic, Neil McCormick, says it is hard to know how to feel about the death of such a hugely important, and yet hugely flawed, music industry figure.

    "Do we lament one of the legendary architects of modern pop, the original Tycoon of Teen?" he asks.

    "Or do we say good riddance to a narcissistic, misogynistic, gun-obsessed, unrepentant killer?"

    Finally, the i newspaper marks the forthcoming sale at auction of a demo tape, recorded by the band which became Radiohead, with a round-up of valuable demos that have gone under the hammer.

    It says the earliest known tape of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards went for more than £50,000. And a 1958 recording of The Quarrymen, who would become the Beatles, playing "That'll Be The Day" is said to be worth up to £200,000.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55699463
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    The Daily Telegraph leads with a warning from scientists, that millions of people could start ignoring coronavirus restrictions, once they've had their first jab.

    It says the government's being urged to begin a new public campaign, to make clear that measures such as social distancing still need to be observed.

    The paper's opinion column argues that, as the mass vaccination progresses, "the itch to resume life and work will become even stronger".



    The Daily Express takes up that theme, admitting in its leader that it is tempting to look beyond the pandemic.

    Some people are already booking holidays, it says, while others have their eyes on what the paper calls "the roaring twenties" - which they hope will begin as the crisis recedes.

    But it concludes that people should stand firm because "we're still living through the worst of it".

    On the front of the Sun there is a large, heart-shaped graphic with the headline "50,000 thank yous". It is a message to the readers who've responded to its "Jabs Army" appeal - for people to help with the Covid vaccination programme.

    According to the Times, vaccinations are to be diverted to people over-80 in "blackspots". It explains that, with parts of the UK inoculating the oldest age group at different speeds, supplies will be prioritised in areas making slower progress.

    The website Huffpost UK has been speaking to the relatives of people in their 90s who haven't yet had the jab.

    One, in Devon, is quoted saying: "When I heard that the prime minister's father had been vaccinated, I knew something in the distribution was wrong. Mum was serving in the armed forces during World War Two, when Stanley Johnson was born."

    Another says the announcement that the over-70s had started being inoculated made her 94-year-old mother's wait "even more frustrating".

    The Daily Mail leads on the findings of an inquest into the deaths of two men on a section of the M1 with no hard shoulder.

    Its headline says so-called smart motorways have been "condemned as death traps".

    "Was there ever a more absurd misnomer?" asks the paper's opinion column. It concludes the system has failed in its aim of easing congestion without compromising safety.

    In a letter to the Financial Times, the leader of the Trades Union Congress, Frances O'Grady, warns the government against watering down workers' rights, in the wake of Brexit.

    She says that such a move - rumours of which have been denied by the government - would be "no boon to business or the economy", and would be more likely to cause damage.

    The Daily Mirror considers Monday night's Commons vote in which six Conservative MPs supported a Labour motion, calling for an increase in Universal Credit payments to be extended beyond the end of March.


    The paper argues that, to support less well-off households hit hard by the pandemic, Boris Johnson must now make the larger payments permanent.

    But the Daily Mail thinks that what it calls "piecemeal handouts" will solve nothing.

    It calls for a "coherent plan to get Britain moving again, whilst also repairing the black hole in our public finances" and accuses Labour of seeking to "weaponise the poor for political advantage".

    The Guardian suggests that the use of electric cars could soon be revolutionised after an Israeli firm developed a battery that can be fully charged in five minutes.

    The first prototypes have been made, and the project is backed by firms including Daimler, BP and Samsung.

    Finally, the Times reports on Colonel Christopher Rigby who was "the only Englishman in Zanzibar" 160 years ago.

    It says journals he kept while serving as British consul on the east African island territory have recently been discovered and reveal that much of his time was spent fighting the slave trade, and "keeping warring sultans at bay".

    The Times seems most interested in how he fuelled these noble deeds: "Preserved horseradish and cheeses from Fortnum and Mason - as well as a few cases of beer".

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55713224
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    Donald Trump features on many of the front pages - as the last few hours of his presidency slip away.

    The Daily Star depicts him in a straitjacket, describing the past four years as "a horrible dream" in which "the fabric of democracy was ripped apart by a narcissistic loon".


    The Guardian says Mr Trump will "skulk off" to Florida for Joe Biden's big day - as the curtain falls on what the Independent describes as "the most tumultuous presidency in living memory".

    'New Trump party'
    The Daily Mail describes Mr Trump as "a capricious, narcissistic affront to human decency", who "revelled in orchestrating mayhem".

    The Sun points out that "he started no wars", "brokered some Middle East peace deals" and had a degree of economic success. But all of it, says the paper, was overshadowed by his incessant stupidity, ignorance, boorish arrogance and monumental vanity.

    "At last, it's the back of Donald Trump" reads the headline on the front of the Metro.

    Well, perhaps not quite, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, which claims Mr Trump has in recent days been discussing setting up his own political party. People close to him have told the paper he would want to call it the "Patriot Party" and would use it to continue exerting influence after he leaves the White House.

    There's continued scrutiny of the government's Covid-19 vaccine roll out.

    The Times says ministers are increasingly concerned about a shortage in the supply of Pfizer's jabs - caused by the firm upgrading its factory in Belgium.

    A government source suggests the delays may endanger the target of vaccinating 15 million people across the UK by mid-February.



    The i claims the government is considering "flipping" its entire vaccine strategy - by prioritising those people who are more likely to spread the virus.

    The paper says phase two of the roll out could see workers immunised ahead of people deemed more vulnerable, if evidence suggests it would stop Covid being spread through the general population.

    The Daily Mirror says there are growing calls for key workers such as police and teachers to be given jabs. The paper urges Boris Johnson to "sort it out" saying it's right to keep safe the millions of workers who risk their lives doing essential jobs.

    Easter mixing?
    With some MPs pushing for details on when the lockdown may be eased, the Daily Express says Boris Johnson has warned the UK would "pay the price" if it let its guard down too soon.

    But the Sun claims Mr Johnson has begun "top-secret planning" to allow millions of people to meet up with loved ones over Easter - even if it is only outdoors.

    Civil servants are understood to be building what it calls "a detailed unlocking framework".

    A government source tells the paper: "It's way too soon to start talking about when - but the work is being done, quietly, on the how."

    Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that another Covid strategy change may also be afoot. It claims the government is to halt plans for the daily mass testing of school children and pupils.

    Proving critics wrong
    Finally, the Daily Telegraph reports on news which it says has left traditional French chef's "spluttering into their beurre blanc".

    A vegan restaurant has become the first eatery of its kind in France to win a coveted Michelin star.

    In a country famed for its meat and cheese, the paper says the venue's head chef was "laughed out of the bank" when she first tried to get a loan for the venture.

    But it says she proved them wrong - raising the money through crowdfunding, before "hitting classic French cuisine where it hurts" with her accolade.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55727367
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    Queue jumping
    The Daily Mail reports on a loophole in an online vaccination booking system that has allowed some people who are not eligible for the Covid-19 jab to jump the queue.

    It says a website being used by some NHS Trusts does not ask for proof of an official NHS letter. Attendees are now being asked to show their eligibility on arrival.

    The Daily Telegraph notes that the government's chief scientist adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, is to look carefully at evidence from Israel that a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine may offer less protection than expected.

    And the Times says that the Doctors Association UK has raised concerns with ministers about ensuring the jab's second doses are given by 12 weeks.

    The Financial Times reports that the over-50s travel group Saga has the full support of its customers over its decision to insist they are vaccinated against coronavirus before joining their cruises. The company carried out a survey of 2,000 of its clients last week which showed that 98% were in favour of making inoculations compulsory.

    One passenger booked for a cruise in October tells the Daily Mail: "I feel much better knowing everyone will have had the vaccination."

    Finally, parents who blame their teenager's friends for being a bad influence could have a point, according to the Times.

    A study by Oxford University has found that adolescents can catch moods from their friends, and the negative ones are more contagious. But the depressed teenager apparently feels better after bringing their friends down.

    One of the researchers asks in the Guardian whether perhaps, in these Covid times, if everyone is struggling, is it emotionally risky to connect with others and potentially catch their mood?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55743385
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    Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, England's deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, says people who have had a Covid-19 vaccine could still pass the virus on to others and should continue following lockdown rules. Responding to criticism of the vaccine rollout from senior doctors, he asks whether those on an at-risk list should wait longer for their first dose so someone who's had a jab can have a booster.

    Delaying the second coronavirus vaccines poses "Boris's biggest gamble", according to the Sunday People. The paper claims that dozens of care home residents have died from Covid-19 after receiving their first jab. In its editorial, it suggests the residents are being "thrown to the wolves".

    The Sunday Telegraph says the Home Office is backing plans for British families returning from their holidays abroad to pay to spend 10 days in a heavily guarded airport hotel. The paper says talks are already under way with hotel chains, including the Holiday Inn owner, IHG.

    The Independent says the quarantine plans are certain to be approved by the cabinet on Monday, but the "fight" will be over whether they'll involve all passengers or just those returning from high risk countries.

    Sources tell the Mail on Sunday that the prime minister favours a "targeted approach".


    The Guardian claims ministers are facing an "explosive row" after more than 500 coronavirus cases were reported at the DVLA's offices in Swansea. The paper reports that Public Health Wales has received a complaint that workers have been asked to switch off their test and trace apps. But the DVLA insists it's been following all Welsh government advice to keep its offices secure and says the spike in cases before Christmas occurred when infection rates were high locally.

    The Sunday Express believes the prime minister will face a "major rebellion" in March if he hasn't started easing lockdown restrictions. The paper says senior MPs have warned significant numbers could vote against Boris Johnson's attempt to renew the government's emergency powers for six months.

    As uncertainty grows over when the curbs will be eased, the cartoonist Andy Davey shows a despondent couple in the Sunday Telegraph surrounded by holiday brochures and papers talking of lockdown extensions in their living room. The husband suggests: "How about the conservatory - I hear it's lovely in July."

    Meanwhile, the Sun on Sunday reports on its front page that the serial killer Levi Bellfield, who murdered 13-year-old Milly Dowler in 2002, has received an invite for a vaccine in prison. The Sun calls this priority treatment "sickening" and suggests he should be put to the "back of a very long queue."

    At last, the Scottish Mail on Sunday opines in its main headline, vaccines are to be rolled out in Scotland seven days a week. This, it notes, is a month behind England.

    The Herald points out that the Western Isles have given out the first inoculation to 12% of the population.

    And as people while away the hours under lockdown, the Sunday Times suggests hobbies pursued by the heroines of Jane Austen's novels are making a comeback. Retailers report that Britons are buying needlework kits, acrylic paints, novels and even pianos. Its headline? "By Georgian! Needlework and piano keep lockdown Lizzies busy."

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55783875
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    "Looks like it's Bognor again, dear," is the Sun's take on the likelihood of plans for quarantine hotels being introduced for UK arrivals.

    Travel experts say the move will cost families at least £1,000 extra and "wreck plans for foreign breaks".

    The Guardian says the policy is part of a "more cautious approach" following England's third lockdown. Details still to be finalised include whether "test to release" will apply - which currently frees travellers from self-isolation at home if they test negative after five days.

    The Daily Telegraph and the i both report that the cabinet is split over the policy.

    Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, is said to be "fighting" for hotel quarantine to only apply to Brazil and South Africa. Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Home Secretary Priti Patel reportedly want all travellers to be subject to the measure.

    Quarantine also has the backing of Chancellor Rishi Sunak, according to the Spectator. Perhaps even more crucially, its online edition says that Conservative MPs "are currently broadly supportive" because they believe it is a fair exchange for greater freedoms internally.



    The Daily Mail editorial says the prospect of seeing arrivals "herded to a budget hotel by coach and detained for 10 days" raises deeply troubling questions. It asks how long such draconian measures will last and what it will take for them to be lifted.

    "Better late than never," is view of the Times in its leader, as it expresses its support for a policy it deems "painful but necessary". The paper says while the UK's airline and tourism sectors will lose out, it would be inexcusable to jeopardise "world-beating" progress on vaccines by opening borders to mutations of the virus.

    "Brussels threatens to block vaccine," is the headline of the Daily Telegraph's main story. It reports that Britain's supply of the Belgian Pfizer jab is in jeopardy after UK-based AstraZeneca said it could only deliver a fraction of its order for the EU.

    Ministers apparently believe stock from Pfizer could be "at best" delayed by extra paperwork as the EU looks to retaliate. MPs think the row is part of the EU's attempts to deflect blame away from their failure to get a vaccination scheme off the ground, with one senior Conservative calling the bloc's response "childish and spiteful".

    "We just want to go back to school," is the plea from children on the front of the Daily Mirror. A survey conducted by the paper has found that 70% of children believe their health and future have been negatively affected by lockdown.

    These children's wishes could soon come true, according to the Times. It reports that government advisers have concluded primary schools can safely reopen after half-term if cases continue to fall.

    And finally, the Sun says parts of the new James Bond film are going to have to be re-filmed because the delays in its release have caused the spy's technology to become out of date.

    "Old-tech Bond back in the Q," is the paper's headline, in a nod to one of the famous characters in the franchise. An insider has suggested while some scenes can be "very carefully edited", sponsors will expect their lucrative deals to be properly honoured.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55805548
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    "Wait your turn!" is the message to Brussels from the Daily Express after the European Union attempted to, in the paper's words, "hijack" tens of millions of Covid vaccinations made in the UK.

    The Financial Times says the EU's demands to make up its shortfall in expected doses from AstraZeneca "risks unleashing an explosive post-Brexit political fight" - but Boris Johnson believes his priority deal for 100 million doses is "watertight".

    The message from Conservative MPs to the EU is equally forthright in the Daily Mail: "No, EU can't have our jabs!"

    With the vaccine row showing no sign of abating, the Times reports that some of the UK's jabs could end up in other countries anyway because Britain has more than enough doses for this year. Someone described as a senior industry source says the UK has ordered 367 million vaccines, enough for five-and-a-half jabs per person.

    Dismissing the European Union's demands for stocks to be diverted from the UK as "political rhetoric", the same source also points out there may be a "human rights issue" in taking away vaccines from people who are due a second jab.



    "Roadmap to nowhere," is the Daily Mirror's take on Boris Johnson's announcement that England's coronavirus lockdown could begin to be eased from 8 March.

    But the Daily Telegraph says that potential date for schools to reopen is part of a wider "three-step plan" for lifting restrictions. Officials are reportedly working on the basis that non-essential shops could start trading again in April, with pubs and restaurants following in May.

    The Daily Star is sceptical. "Does Bozo ever learn?" its leader asks, calling it "foolhardy" to even set a provisional date to reopen schools.

    The Financial Times reports that there are more than 100,000 surplus pigs waiting to be slaughtered on British farms. The National Pig Association says the issue is partly because the UK is phasing in customs requirements for EU imports, a grace period that the bloc has not reciprocated.

    Farmers also reportedly blame "cheap German pork" for flooding the European market, after fears over African swine fever in wild boars led to a ban on exports from Berlin to China.

    "My miracle Covid baby" is the heartwarming lead in the Metro, as it reports on the NHS nurse who has finally met her three-month-old daughter for the first time.

    Eva Gicain was so ill with Covid she had no idea she had given birth via a caesarean.

    After spending 76 days in hospital she was discharged earlier this month. A picture of the smiling new mother and baby also make the front page, with Ms Gicain describing their reunion as "a special moment".

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55835760
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    Several of the front pages lead on the European Union's efforts to address a shortage of coronavirus vaccines.

    The Financial Times says the EU's vaccination plan is at "crisis point", with rollouts being paused in Paris, Madrid and Portugal. The ire of member states is focused on drugs firm AstraZeneca, according to the paper, because of big shortfalls in production.

    The Guardian warns that EU plans to give national regulators the power to block exports could lead to millions of doses being prevented from entering Britain "within days".

    The paper cites research suggesting that if the UK has to rely solely on home-produced vaccines, a target of immunising 75% of the population would be reached three months later than planned, putting thousands of lives at risk.

    The Daily Telegraph says Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of siding with the EU. She has pledged to publish data about vaccine supplies in order - the Telegraph says - to counter claims that vaccinations in Scotland are being rolled out too slowly.

    Boris Johnson has reportedly urged her to reconsider because of fears the data could help the EU put pressure on manufacturers to divert their doses. The paper's leader column suggests Ms Sturgeon could be putting her pro-EU sympathies ahead of the interests of Scottish voters.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55850218
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    Most of the front pages were published before the European Union reversed its efforts to control the export of coronavirus vaccines to Northern Ireland.

    The Sun declares: "Now EU really are giving us the needle."

    MPs accused Brussels chiefs of "behaving like the mafia", according to the Daily Express.

    The Daily Mail updates its first edition saying the EU had performed what it called a "screeching U-turn".

    The backtrack is dubbed "humiliating" in the Guardian's story.

    The FT Weekend describes the plan to apply trade controls between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland as "an incendiary move."

    The Irish Independent suggests the decision may have been taken "inadvertently" by someone who did not understand the political implications.



    The EU's Chief Brexit Negotiator, Michel Barnier, tells the Times that he had called for Brussels to step back in the row.

    The Daily Telegraph focuses on what it calls the "fury" provoked by Emmanuel Macron's suggestion that the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is "quasi-ineffective" in the over 65s.

    The paper says the French president has been criticised for not understanding the science by experts and senior Conservatives.

    In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Macron warns Boris Johnson's government to decide where its alliances lie - be it with the EU, the US or Singapore.



    The i is among several papers to report that liquid mud is said to be pouring into tunnels dug by environmental campaigners close to Euston station to protest against the HS2 rail link.

    A campaigner tells the Daily Mirror that the water is being deliberately pumped in - a claim for which the paper found no evidence and was dismissed by HS2.

    The Daily Star mocks what it calls the "posh climate activists" for complaining about the noise created by the workers trying to dig them out, with its headline, "This tunnel's pure torture, Tarquin".

    Many papers report on the Sunday Times list of the highest taxpayers.

    The founder of Bet 365, Denise Coates and her family are top, with Fred and Peter Done - the brothers behind another bookies, Bet Fred - third.

    The Times points out that the government's considering a crackdown on the gambling industry.

    There has been a sharp rise in UK holiday accommodation prices, according to the FT Weekend, as people prepare for staycations.

    The FT says the country's largest holiday cottage operator, Awaze, has reported double digit increases in rates.

    The Guardian suggests Cornwall has been deluged with holiday enquiries.

    There has been something of a kickback against outsiders in the Cornish resort of Padstow.



    The Times says the town wants to ban second home owners from buying new builds to stop locals being priced out of the market.

    But the paper says when St Ives tried a similar thing it led to a rise in the price of existing properties.

    And the Sun reports that an amateur metal detectorist has discovered what is believed to be the centrepiece of Henry VIII's long lost crown in a field in Northamptonshire.

    At first, Kevin Duckett mistook the small gold figurine for a crumpled foil dish or a milk bottle top.

    The British Museum is now checking its authenticity but it could be worth £2m.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55866263
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    Several papers set out details of what the Sun on Sunday calls Boris Johnson's "seven hour showdown" with European Union chiefs.

    A senior government official tells the Sunday Times and the Sun that the phone calls to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were "pretty spicy".

    The Mail on Sunday suggests contingency plans were drawn up to airlift vaccination doses out of the EU following the short-lived decision to introduce export controls on the Northern Ireland border.

    British and EU vaccine industry bodies warn in the Observer of the dangers of export bans when firms are working collaboratively.


    Online, the Independent stresses that the UK has offered to help the bloc with its production crisis.

    In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, says the UK would continue to go out of its way to assist Brussels.

    The Sunday Times says ministers are considering removing gambling logos from sports shirts.

    The paper says a crackdown on betting firm sponsors could hit football clubs, snooker, darts, boxing and rugby league.

    A source from one Premier League club suggests the timing is the worst possible with finances hit by the pandemic.

    But the Times says MPs and campaigners have welcomed the possibility because of concerns about gambling addictions.

    The Observer claims Facebook is able to make money indirectly from pages that share false theories about coronavirus and vaccines.

    The Bureau of Investigative Journalism is reported to have found 430 such pages.

    Facebook said many of these did not violate its misinformation rules but it had removed a small number that did.

    Meanwhile, the Mail reports on a warning by a top counter terrorism officer that plans by the social media giant to encrypt all messages on Facebook Messenger and Instagram could stop police uncovering terror plots in Britain.


    Ministers have been told that social distancing may have to stay in place all year, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

    Scientific modelling suggests that even if vaccines could cut infections by 85%, a lockdown would be needed until the end of May to stop a significant rise in deaths.

    The research concludes that, if the current restrictions were lifted next month, then by April there would be another large spike in cases.

    Barbara Windsor's husband, Scott Mitchell, criticises Boris Johnson in the Sunday Mirror over a fall in funding for dementia care.

    Alzheimer's Research UK says money to fight the condition has halved in the past three years.

    Mr Mitchell says the government had promised to double funding and he had told his wife, who died last month, that he would do his best for her.

    Finally, the Daily Star Sunday reports on an MI6 plan to recruit part-time spies - or what it calls "On Her Majesty's Sometimes Service".

    The Star explains that the intelligence agency is trying to appeal to a wider cross-section of society in its latest recruitment drive.

    A source tells the paper it might appeal to a bored executive of a multinational who wants to spice up their dull life.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55875036
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