Many of the papers lead on the arrival of a record 230 migrants on a single 49ft dinghy. The Daily Mail, external notes the number is more than the capacity of a Boeing-737 and says the small boats crisis has become a “big boats crisis”. The Sun, external takes a similar approach with its headline, “not-so-small boats crisis”. It says the crossing will cost taxpayers £25m. The Daily Telegraph, external carries a warning from the French lifeboat service, which says there is “no limit” to the number of migrants people smugglers will put on board the giant dinghies.
Andy Burnham’s call for the justice secretary to draw up plans to exclude PC Harper’s killers from the prison early release scheme leads the Times, external. A government source is quoted in the report, saying the prime minister never accepted that Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers should walk free.
The Daily Mirror, external reports on the drought conditions for most of Britain under the headline, “high and dry”. The paper says 45 million people are now in drought areas. The Guardian, external says firefighters have warned they aren’t properly equipped to deal with what they call an “unprecedented” surge in wildfires as a result of the dry conditions. According to the report, the Fire Brigades Union says ensuring crews are prepared to tackle the rising threat should be a “national priority”.
The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has told the Daily Express, external that Andy Burnham needs to rule out further tax rises to fund his new policies. Writing in the paper, she says the prime minister and his new chancellor, John Healey, face a “tricky test” in the Budget. In response, Labour says it will focus on problem solving, not point scoring.
The Financial Times, external leads on what it calls one of Wall Street’s most ambitious lending efforts. It says some of the largest financial groups are working on a five hundred billion dollar package with the artificial intelligence firm, Nvidia, to invest in AI data centres.
“You’ll never deliver alone” reads the Daily Star’s, external headline with the paper reporting on the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, nearing a deal to buy a stake in Liverpool football club. Its front page features a picture of a Liverpool player with the billionaire’s face edited on.