“I’m under so much pressure” headlines The Sun over a shot that many papers have used of Chancellor Rachel Reeves in tears. “Markets panic as she sobs behind PM”, it writes, adding “government in meltdown”. “Diddy’s court prayer” is also featured on its front page as it reports that hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was cleared on three of five charges in a high-profile trial.
Much of the Daily Mail’s front page is taken up by the shot of Reeves as it asks “what – or who – caused the tears that sparked turmoil in the markets?”. There are “claims of angry bust-up” with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner ahead of PMQs, it says. Sarah Vine writes, “Rachel needed a hug. Instead [Sir Keir] Starmer sucked her dry to shore up his own position”. The journalist calls the prime minister a “political vampire”.
The Times runs with the same close-up of Reeves, saying she “battles doubters after PM spooks markets”. Her show of emotion “prompted the biggest jump in Britain’s borrowing costs since Liz Truss’s premiership”, it writes. In health news, “thousands more GPs and fewer hospital consultants will be trained” as the government wants to “move healthcare closer to where people live”. The new efforts will be announced today and will “fundamentally rewire” the NHS, the PM has said.
The Daily Telegraph headlines on the drop in value of the pound following “Reeves’s tears”. One financial expert it quotes suggests more taxes are on the way. The Telegraph’s Judith Woods asks “if this was a personal matter, why did she have to sit there?” The paper also runs with the new NHS reforms on its front page, as “Starmer pins hopes on six-day ‘neighbourhood’ NHS”. Dentists will have “a new tie-in forcing them to work for the NHS for at least three years”, it reports.
It is “tears and turmoil” in The Guardian as “PM forced to defend Reeves after welfare fiasco”. The chancellor “was accused of political misjudgement for trying to force through cuts in the face of deep backbench unhappiness”. Elsewhere, a bomb that the Israeli military reportedly used against a cafe in Gaza may be an “IDF war crime” according to experts.
There has been a slump in gilts as well as the pound after the chancellor’s “tears trigger fears for fiscal vigilance” writes the Financial Times. Sir Keir “refused to say that the chancellor would remain in her post”. Elsewhere on the front page, “Gen Z’s thirst gives drinks brands cause to celebrate” as the young up their alcohol intake. And Bumble boss Whitney Wolfe Herd said her staff were “freaking out” after she laid off more than 160. The dating app said it had made some “very difficult decisions” to better position the company for “long term growth and success”.
The chancellor’s future is “in doubt” writes The i Paper after her “tearful PMQs”. No 10 later insisted Reeves was upset by a “personal matter”, it writes. Her sister, who is also an MP, “comforts her in the chamber”.
Metro also goes with Reeves crying in the Commons for its headline, but focuses on the PM with “tears & jeers for Starmer”. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said the chancellor looked “absolutely miserable”, Metro reports.
The Daily Express writes of a “day of drama” that “leaves Reeves on brink”. Sir Keir is “desperately scrambling to contain a growing crisis” after the chancellor’s tears, it writes. Also on the front, Catherine, Princess of Wales, shares her “brave face” during her “really difficult” cancer recovery.
“My roller coaster recovery” tops the Daily Mirror as the Princess of Wales tells of her difficulty to find “new normal” after cancer treatment. “Diddy guilty” reads another of the top stories, keeping the story of the end to the rapper’s trial brief.
The Daily Star’s headline reads “freak show” as the “rap star verdict” emerged. Also on its front page, another shot of “the crying chancellor”.
