Ukraine missile 'go-ahead' and' winter fuel 'fight'

Several front pages focus on the early release of prisoners in England and Wales.

The Daily Telegraph has a photo of a heavily tattooed offender, giving the thumbs-up as he was freed from Durham jail. "Cheers, Keir" is the headline. The paper's cartoonist, Matt, addresses concerns about rehabilitation. He depicts inmates leaving a prison under a sign saying: "Thank you for staying. See you again soon."

There is a picture on the front of the Daily Mail of a prisoner at Nottingham jail being sprayed with champagne - described in the caption as "sickening celebrations". The Mail lists other incidents it is outraged by, including one offender being "greeted by friends in a Lamborghini", and another vowing he's now a "life-long Labour voter".

The Sun dismisses the release scheme as a "day of shame for the justice system". But its opinion column acknowledges that the circumstances which have led to it are "not all the new government's fault". It points out that the overcrowding "dates back at least to Tony Blair's era".

The i concentrates on the Commons vote on government plans to restrict winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners. It believes that the approval of the move by MPs will embolden the Labour leadership. But the paper's editorial argues that even though Sir Keir Starmer's team may have "dodged a disaster", "there are signs of trouble ahead". It sees difficulty in next month's Budget, which it warns will be full of "thorny clauses" on taxes and spending.

The Guardian's opinion column suggests that Sir Keir should "take the win and let the matter rest there". It believes the prime minister needs to move on from his drive to improve the fiscal conditions of the UK and instead focus on the business of "fixing public services", like the NHS. The government, it states, must make "the right choices, not just tough choices".

The Mirror agrees. It points out that Sir Keir and his ministers ought to be coaxing the public's attention back to what the paper judges to be "much that is good in what the government is doing".

According to the Financial Times, India's Tata Group is "very close" to a deal to release £500m of taxpayers' money to support greener steel making at its plant in Port Talbot. The paper says it has been told by the chairman of Tata's holding company that talks aiming for a possible agreement have been "going well". The FT suggests ministers could make an announcement about it today.

Finally, the Times is one of several papers bowled over by a new exhibition of works by Vincent van Gogh at the National Gallery in London. The headline states: "Believe the hype: this is a once in a century starburst." The paper says the show focuses on the Dutch master's "feverishly productive years before his death in 1880", bringing together "his most spectacular paintings".

The Guardian, which has one of van Gogh's self-portraits on its front page, agrees. It concludes that the show is "heart stopping" - an exhibition that loves the painter "as he deserves" to be loved.

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