'Suited not booted' and 'property tax shake-up'
- Published
The White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky is the main story. The contrast between this meeting and the pair's last encounter in the Oval Office, which ended in shouting, is given prominent coverage. The Daily Telegraph, external has a photo of Zelensky laughing alongside Trump, and says the two have "buried the hatchet".
The Daily Mail also considers the tension in the run up to the meeting, comparing it to a "chess match with live grenades", external. It chooses a photo of the pair looking more serious, leaning in close to one another. Much is made of the number of times Zelensky said "thank you" - more than twenty - after he was admonished by Vice President JD Vance, during the last meeting for not being thankful enough.
The Times, external says "hopes have been raised" that peace "might be within reach", with President Zelensky welcoming the talks with Trump as the "best" to date. The paper says the mood in Washington is "very upbeat".
The Daily Mirror, external is less optimistic about the meeting, saying America's efforts are "unlikely to break the stalemate" between Russia and Ukraine. It mentions a warning by President Vladimir Putin that the deployment of Nato forces in Ukraine would be an "uncontrollable escalation".
The Sun, external focuses on Zelensky's decision to wear a suit to the White House - as opposed to the combat gear he wore in February, which prompted ridicule. The Sun says this time President Zelensky was "suited, not booted".
The Guardian reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering a new tax on the sale of properties worth more than £500,000, external as a step towards a radical overhaul of stamp duty. Senior ministers are said to have asked officials to study how a proportional property tax could be implemented.
The Telegraph agrees that the chancellor is drawing up plans for a fresh raid on homeowners as she struggles to balance the books. But it quotes one source close to the Treasury as saying that a national tax on homes worth more than half a million pounds was definitely not going to happen.
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