Abbott 'defies Starmer', and VAT pledge

Labour veteran Diane Abbott has  set up a "clash" with Sir Keir Starmer, after defying him with her vow to remain an MP for "as long as possible", the Guardian reports

The Guardian declares that Labour veteran Diane Abbott has set up a "clash" with Sir Keir Starmer, after defying him with her vow to remain an MP for "as long as possible".

The paper reports that a deal for her to retire from parliament, after her readmission to the Labour party, has broken down.

"I will not be intimidated," says the Daily Telegraph headline. The paper says she's thrown Labour’s election campaign into turmoil.

The Times says the Labour leader is facing backlash from the left of his party over what it calls a "full blown purge" of candidates who had supported the previous leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

"Abbott dares Starmer: try to stop me," is the i's headline. Sir Keir said yesterday that "no decision" had been taken to bar Diane Abbott.

"We’re behind you, Keir," reads the Daily Mirror's headline. The words are written across a picture of the Labour leader posing with student nurses on the campaign trail in Worcester yesterday.

Rishi Sunak tells the Times that a vote for the Conservatives is a vote for cuts to interest rates.

He also says the decision to call an early election rests on his "shoulders alone", and uses the interview to accuse Labour of assuming that it can just “glide into No 10” without setting out a clear plan for office. Labour insists it does.

The Metro says the planned five-day walkout by junior doctors in England, before polling day, has been branded a "cynical election doc strike". The doctors' union, the BMA, has accused the government of ending negotiations.

But the Sun says the junior doctors should have waited for a new government before restarting pay talks.

The Financial Times leads with a warning that Europe has what it calls a "tiny fraction" – less than 5% – of the air power that's needed to guard Nato's eastern flank.

The paper says Russia’s war against Ukraine has underscored the importance of air defence. According to the FT, some European leaders and military officials believe that Russia might have the capability to attack a Nato member by the end of the decade.

The Daily Mail says it's unearthed a never-before-seen report which it claims reveals a definitive account of Lord Lucan's disappearance.

The paper says the Scotland Yard report, from 1975, exposes "bombshell" new details about how the notorious peer plotted to murder his estranged wife, before killing his children's nanny and vanishing without trace.

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