'North Sea stand-off' and 'Council tax hike for millions'

The activity of a Russian spy ship in the North Sea made several front pages on Thursday, with the Mirror quoting Defence Secretary John Healey in its headline. He told reporters that the Yantar "dangerously" directed lasers to disrupt RAF pilots tracking its activity near UK waters. "We see you, we know what you're doing," he warned Moscow.

The Independent also made a nod to Healey in their headline, characterising his quotes as a "stern threat to Putin". Russia's Embassy in London says it's not undermining UK security and it has condemned Healey's statement as provocative.

The Sun says the incident has caused tensions with Russia to escalate, amid "more damning revelations" about a British man facing a war crimes charge for spreading what the paper calls "sick Putin propaganda".

The i Paper reports that local authorities in London and the South East will be allowed to raise their council tax without a public vote. The paper says that the hikes are part of a "major funding overhaul to protect services", and suggests that Whitehall grants will be diverted to areas in the North and the Midlands with "greater needs".

Trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on how they look, according to an exclusive report from the Times. The paper says the guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission was handed to ministers three months ago, but is yet to be published.

"Starmer calls on Farage to address racism claims," says the Guardian, following on from its reporting on Wednesday which alleged that the Reform UK leader had made racist comments when he was in school. Farage has denied making any of the comments and actions attributed to him by former pupils at Dulwich College, in south London, in the 1970s.

Officials have spoken to the Daily Telegraph about a secret deal that has been "thrashed out" between the US and Russia in a recent "flurry" of talks. Sources familiar with the 28-point plan have told the paper that Ukraine could be forced to cede control of the eastern Donbas region to Russia but retain ownership. Moscow would pay the nation an undisclosed rental fee.

The Daily Mail says that public confidence in the economy under the Labour government is at "rock bottom", just one week out from the Budget. They lead with results from a YouGov poll, which found only 4% of those surveyed rated economic conditions as "fairly good".

Budget speculation has also made the front page of the Daily Express, which says new analysis has offered proof that the pension triple lock "must stay". The paper says that millions of people will suffer "pensioner poverty" if Chancellor Rachel Reeves "bows to pressure and allows pensioners' incomes to be whittled away".

"Home investors pull £26bn from top London stocks despite blistering rally," declares the Financial Times, warning that the Budget is fuelling nervousness in investors amid a "heightened sense of impending doom". However, the paper says that the FTSE 100 is on course for its best year since its rebound from the financial crisis in 2009.

The Metro alleges that a prestigious fertility clinic has been hacked by a group with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The paper says the ransomware gang, Qilin, is believed to have infiltrated the clinic's computer systems last month.

Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsey are pictured on the front page of the Daily Star, after the Olympian said his family were "encouraging false claims" ahead of the pair's upcoming nuptials.

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