'Labour war on tax cheats' and winter fuel 'revolt'

Many of the front pages look ahead to the speech by Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the Labour conference today. The Daily Telegraph says she will warn of ''economic ruin'' unless a major shortfall in the public finances can be reversed.

A former Bank of England chief economist, Andy Haldane, is quoted in The Financial Times as saying the government has generated a sense of “fear and foreboding” over its gloomy rhetoric. Another industry figure - who isn't named --tells the paper "they’re struggling to dig themselves out of the depression ditch they’ve put themselves in''.

''Labour war on tax cheats'' is the headline in The Daily Mirror. It says Rachel Reeves will announce a plan to identify tax dodgers in an attempt to claw back billions of pounds. According to the paper, about 200 investigators will begin work in November, with thousands more expected to be recruited over the next five years.

The Guardian leads on Labour's plan to investigate more than 600 million pounds worth of Covid contracts awarded by the Conservatives. Party sources tell the paper they expect some cases will be referred to the National Crime Agency or the Serious Fraud Office -- adding the chancellor thinks she can recover more than two-and-a-half billion pounds from fraud and flawed contracts.

The prime minister faces a showdown with his union backers over a cut to winter fuel support for most pensioners, according to The Daily Express. It says retired members of the Unite union are planning a protest at the Labour party conference, to try to force a vote on the issue.

The Times features comments by lawyers representing the alleged victims of Mohamed Al Fayed, who claim the businessman was at the centre of an ''extreme and extensive sex trafficking operation''. Veteran libel lawyer David Hooper tells the paper the former Harrods owner relied on a team of enablers, including police officers, to silence his victims.

The Daily Telegraph reports a teenager who became caught up in the recent riots won't face any further legal action-- because his parents had punished him enough. The paper carries comments by Stephen Parkinson, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, who said the parents of the 14-year-old boy marched him to a police station, after they found out about his involvement in the disorder. Mr Parkinson said the wrath the child faced from his parents was more effective than anything the criminal justice system could deliver.

The Daily Mail reports the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner, has hired what the paper describes as "vanity photographer", at an annual cost of £68,000 to the taxpayer. The paper says Simon Walker was previously the chief photographer to Rishi Sunak when he was prime minister. A government spokesman says it's a civil service role and many departments employ official photographers.

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