Twelve dead in Channel and 'Starmer and US at odds'

The government is considering scrapping the Right to Buy policy for newly built council homes in England, according to the Daily Telegraph

A variety of stories make the headlines in Wednesday's papers.

The Guardian leads on the deaths of 12 people after their small boat sank in the Channel. It says charities are demanding the government open more safe routes for migrants. The Refugee Council tells the paper that heightened security on French beaches has led to increasingly perilous crossings, and more humane pathways are needed for those seeking refuge.

The Daily Mail says the disaster will pile pressure on the government to halt the crossings. Its headline asks: "How long before the vile smuggling gangs are stopped?"

The Daily Telegraph reports that the housing secretary and deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, is considering scrapping the Right to Buy policy for newly built council homes in England. Under the plans, the discount offered to existing tenants would be cut, the paper says, after councils warned that the scheme was burning a hole in their budgets. Any proposed changes would go out to consultation in the autumn. The Ministry of Housing tells the Telegraph it's working to reverse the decline in the number of social rent homes.

Several papers lead on the arrest of a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of murder after an 80-year-old dog walker was attacked in a park in Leicestershire. The Daily Mirror says Bhim Kohli was 30 seconds from his front door when the alleged assault happened. The leader column in the Daily Express says the nation is "united in horror" over Mr Kohli's death.

The Times claims that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is at odds with Washington over the UK's decision to suspend some arms sales to Israel. American officials are quoted saying there's been no determination by the US that Israel has violated international humanitarian law. A UK government source tells the paper that US figures privately warned against the move. The Foreign Office says it doesn't recognise that characterisation.

The Financial Times reports that regulators are set to scale back a scheme to reimburse victims of fraud. According to the paper, the maximum compensation that banks would have to pay is to be lowered from the proposed level of £415,000 to £85,000.

The paper says there was concern from ministers and the industry that criminals would exploit the higher threshold, potentially putting smaller firms out of business. The watchdog, the Payments Systems Regulator, declined to comment.

The Guardian reports that scribbled notes by Lucy Letby that were used to help convict her of the murders of seven babies were made as a result of counselling she received for stress. They contained phrases including "I am evil I did this" which were used by prosecutors to build their case. The paper says Letby was advised during therapy sessions to write down any troubling thoughts. An academic specialising in serial killers tells the Guardian the notes are meaningless as evidence.

Yesterday's announcement by the Scottish government of £500m worth of cuts is the main story for a number of Scottish papers. The Daily Record says NHS and social care spending will be slashed as part of "brutal" efforts to fill a £1bn black hole. The Scottish Daily Mail says the cuts are being made in spite of the SNP setting the highest income tax rates in the UK.

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