Starmer wants 'closer US ties' and Wallace 'Boiling Point'

The prime minister's foreign policy speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet prompts some contrasting headlines.

The Daily Telegraph sees it as a warning from Sir Keir Starmer to Donald Trump that he will "not side with America against the EU" - despite calls from the president-elect’s allies to choose between Brussels and Washington.

But the interpretation by the Times is that Sir Keir's speech shows he wants "even closer ties to the US". The paper highlights part of the speech where Sir Keir pledges to "invest more deeply than ever" in the special relationship between the two countries.

The prime minister is facing accusations in the Daily Mail that he's presiding over what its headline calls "government by talking shop". The paper says Labour has set up 67 reviews, task forces and consultations since winning the election. The Mail claims that even more are on the way in areas such as cutting the benefits bill. The former Conservative minister, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, tells the paper "to govern is to choose" not to review. Downing Street has rejected the Mail's suggestion that the reviews risk hindering progress in delivering Labour targets.

The Guardian says ministers are considering caps on political donations as part of sweeping reforms to the UK electoral system. The paper says the Institute for Public Policy Research will recommend that ministers limit individual and corporate gifts to parties to one-hundred-thousand pounds a year. It also reports on speculation that Elon Musk could donate $100 million to Reform UK.

What the Daily Mirror calls "the Gregg Wallace sleaze row" is still getting plenty of coverage. "I'm Sorry" is the paper's headline, as it reports on the TV presenter's apology for branding his accusers "middle-class women of a certain age".

The Daily Express describes him as being "under siege". And the Sun says BBC bosses "defied MPs" by airing an episode of MasterChef last night and refusing to pull Christmas Specials in which Greg Wallace appears. The paper's cookery-themed headline is "Boiling Point".

A warning that higher energy bills are on the way, to pay for the drive towards net zero emissions by 2030, is the top story for the i. Experts have told the paper that upfront costs for things like wind turbines and solar panels could lead to a short-term spike in bills. The i also reports that it expects the the prime minister to re-state his promise to save consumers up to £300 on their bills in a speech this week.

And the Times has a cautionary tale for vegans hoping to save the planet. It reports that meat and dairy substitutes can be worse for the environment than the real thing. The paper says a report by Oxford University found foods such as veggie burgers and oat milk were relatively bad for the climate. Veggie bacon and almond milk were assessed as being worse for the environment than the pork bacon and dairy milk they were designed to replace. Experts tell the paper that climate conscious consumers should go for natural whole foods such as peas and soya beans.

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