A number of Wednesday’s papers report on the arrest of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, who disappeared more than seven weeks ago with their newborn baby, on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. The Mail says the couple are being urged to tell investigators where the baby is, but also quotes a spokesperson for Sussex Police saying it is possible the baby has “come to harm”.
The pair are currently refusing to talk to the police or even reveal the baby’s sex, according to the Metro. The paper says the child is currently being searched for in freezing temperatures and across an area of 19 sq miles.
The i says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has “gambled his political career” on defying critics of the deal with the European Union – intended to ease the flow of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland – unveiled on Monday. The paper adds that Number Ten is in a “bullish mood” following a positive initial reception of the deal, but that Eurosceptic MPs are expected to take two weeks to study it before delivering a verdict.
Sunak has told his MPs that he is prepared to push ahead with the deal with or without the support of the DUP, the Times reports. The party has for months refused to form a power sharing government at Stormont because of issues with the existing arrangement, but the paper says Sunak has told his back benchers his focus is on what’s “best for the people of Northern Ireland”.
The Express describes the deal as “Rishi’s Brexit boost for the UK”. The paper quotes business leaders who have said the positive impact the deal will have on Britain’s economic prospects should “not be underestimated”.
Former health secretary Matt Hancock rejected advice from medical experts that everyone going into care homes in England during the pandemic should be tested for Covid, the Telegraph reports. It says that, in April 2020, Hancock told advisors via Whatsapp that Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty had recommended there be “testing of all going into care homes”, but that tests for people entering from the community were not introduced until 14 August.
The Guardian reports that a £14bn plan to reduce NHS backlogs caused by the pandemic is already failing to meet its targets. The paper says a report by Commons public accounts committee has found that a record seven million people are now on waiting lists and concluded that a three-year recovery programme for elective and cancer care was based on “unrealistic assumptions”.
Tata Motors, the multinational company that owns Jaguar Land Rover, is demanding more than £500m in aid from the UK government to build a new battery factory in Britain, the Financial Times reports. The paper says the firm is trying to decide whether to build the facility in Spain or south-west England, and that its decision could be “pivotal” for the future of the UK car industry.
The Mirror leads with the story of a single dad who lost all his limbs in an accident seven years ago but is now able to hug his twin daughters again thanks to a double hand transplant. The headline reads: “Arms of love”.
And the Star reports that market traders have been forced to quadruple the price of vegetables because they are being charged as much as £2 for a single lettuce and £24 for a crate of tomatoes.
A variety of stories lead Wednesday’s papers.
The Daily Telegraph carries the first report in a series of investigative stories it is calling “The Lockdown Files”. The paper says it has obtained 100,000 leaked WhatsApp messages between the former health secretary, Matt Hancock, and other officials during the height of the pandemic. It says they reveal Mr Hancock decided against advice to test all residents going into care homes in England for Covid. A spokesperson for Mr Hancock has called the report an “outrageous” and “distorted” account of the pandemic, spun to fit what they call an “anti-lockdown agenda”.
The Telegraph also features commentary from Isabel Oakeshott – the journalist who leaked the messages. She obtained them while helping Mr Hancock write his book, Pandemic Diaries. Ms Oakeshott – who has been critical of lockdowns – says she is sharing the trove because she believes the official Covid inquiry is taking too long and that there needs to be a more urgent examination of how official decisions about Covid were made. She claims the messages reveal turmoil within Number 10 and a shift to what she calls “lockdown zealotry”.
The Guardian headlines with a report by the Commons public accounts committee, which has found that NHS England’s three-year plan to reduce backlogs caused by the pandemic is already failing to meet its targets. The paper quotes the report as saying the recovery programme is based on “unrealistic assumptions”.
Image source, PA Media
Matt Hancock was health secretary at the height of the pandemic
Downing Street has suggested the new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland is not open to negotiation, according to the Times. The paper has been told the Democratic Unionist Party faces a straight choice between accepting it or not. And the Daily Express reports that business leaders are predicting a boost to the UK’s struggling economy on the back of the deal.
In the Telegraph, Lord Frost – who helped negotiate the current protocol – writes that EU law “remains supreme” under the new agreement, calling it a “bitter pill to swallow”, but adding that he doesn’t mean the deal shouldn’t go ahead.
The Daily Mail leads with the police search for the missing baby of the runaway aristocrat Constance Marten and her partner Mark Gordon. The paper says officers fear the child has come to harm, but the Metro says police are still holding out hope that the newborn is safe and well.
A number of the papers feature a picture of a laughing Princess of Wales beating Prince William in a spin class challenge. “Princess of wheels’, quips the Daily Mirror, the Express captions the picture: “Pedal power!”
And the Financial Times has a picture of what could become the UK’s most expensive home. It says estate agents are looking to sell the London mansion – set in four acres of Regent’s Park – for as much as £250m, which would break the previous record of £210m. The paper’s sources say the 200-year-old villa was repossessed after its Saudi Arabian owners defaulted on a loan.
