Labour to 'miss homes pledge' and 'pension megafunds' plan

The i says Labour's pledge to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament has been "plunged into doubt" by comments from the head of Homes England, the government's housing agency. The paper says that, in an email to staff, Peter Denton said the target was "realistically" part of a "two parliamentary term approach".

The Times says the government is facing a growing "business backlash" over last month's Budget, which contained, among other things, a £25bn increase in employers' national insurance. The paper says the British Retail Consortium has drafted a letter telling Chancellor Rachel Reeves its members will not be able to absorb the additional cost of the measures. It quotes the letter as saying the "sheer scale of new costs... and the speed with which they occur, together with costs from a raft of other regulation, create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty”.

Downing Street has confirmed that the cap on council tax rises will remain at 5% next year, according to the Daily Mail. The paper says the decision is part of efforts to help councils meet rising costs. It adds, though, that the news comes just a fortnight after some "eye-watering" tax rises in the Budget and despite previous attacks by Labour on the Conservatives over similar council tax hikes.

Reeves hopes to unlock £80bn worth of investment by reforming local government retirement schemes to form eight pensions "megafunds", the Financial Times reports. It comes as the chancellor is due to deliver her first Mansion House speech, an annual address delivered by the sitting chancellor in the City of London, on Thursday. Reeves tells the paper she also wants to reassure businesses the recent tax rises were part of a "once in a parliament Budget".

The Daily Telegraph says Essex Police has been accused of attacking free speech after launching an investigation into one of its columnists, Allison Pearson, for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a social media post last year. Pearson has said two officers visited her to tell her about the investigation on Sunday, but they would not say which post it concerned or who had made the complaint. Former prime minister Boris Johnson is quoted calling the behaviour of the police "appalling", while shadow home secretary Chris Philp says he is "deeply concerned this will have a chilling effect on free speech and free expression".

A report by Human Right Watch has said Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the "deliberate and massive forced displacement" of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the policy amounts to "crimes against humanity", according to the Guardian. The paper says the report comes amid mounting evidence that Israel is "accelerating efforts to cut the Gaza Strip in two with a buffer zone" and "building infrastructure to support a prolonged military presence" in the territory.

The Metro leads with Donald Trump's "shock appointment" of a Fox News TV host and former soldier as the US defence secretary. The paper says that, despite having no government experience, Pete Hegseth, 44, will run the "world's largest military machine and its $800bn (£627bn) budget", with responsibility for 1.3 million active duty personnel, 1.4 million reservists, and civilian staff worldwide.

"Wild west of cosmetic surgery in Britain", reads the headline in the Daily Mirror. The paper says an ITV investigation has found that potentially deadly operations, including liposuction, are being carried out by people with just hours of training. It adds Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged a crackdown on rogue operators.

And the Sun alleges a video taken at this summer's Euros appears to show Premier League David Coote using a rolled-up US banknote to sniff a line of white powder in a clip he later sent to a friend on WhatsApp. The BBC has not independently verified the footage.

A variety of stories lead Thursday's papers.

Pictures of Donald Trump sitting beside Joe Biden in the Oval Office feature on many of the front pages. Under the headline "old friends reunited at White House", the Times says the current US leader used the transitional meeting to urge his successor to stand with Ukraine. On its inside pages, the Guardian's US sketch writer, David Smith, calls the discussion between the two men a "triumphant who's-got-the-last-laugh-now return to Washington" for Donald Trump.

The Financial Times has spoken to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, ahead of her announcement on pensions. She tells the paper that £80bn of investment could be unlocked under her plan to combine local government pension funds into what she describes as "megafunds". The Daily Mail's Jeff Prestridge says there's "precious little detail" about whether the funds will be required to invest in UK assets and that the plan could prove to be a "damp squib".

The Mail's front page focuses on council tax. The paper says Downing Street has confirmed that the cap on council tax rises will remain at 5% next year, despite a fall in inflation. The article says that could mean an increase of up to £110 for a Band D property. But a government source says the 5% cap won't necessarily translate into a similar tax rise, as it will be up to individual councils to decide what to charge.

The i says Labour's pledge to build 1.5 million homes by the end of the parliament has been thrown into doubt. It's seen an email by the official leading the plan in which he says the goal is "realistically... a two parliamentary term approach". Officials say they're committed to the target.

Outgoing president Joe Biden hosted president-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday

"Police in 'appalling' attack on free speech" is the headline on the front of the Daily Telegraph. It says there's an intensifying backlash against Essex Police after it opened an investigation into columnist Allison Pearson for allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a social media post. Boris Johnson has joined billionaire Elon Musk in criticising the force. The Sun's editorial calls the investigation "appalling over-reach". Essex Police says it investigates matters "without fear or favour, no matter who makes the report or to whom the incident concerns".

The Daily Mirror says the government has pledged to take action against people who carry out cosmetic procedures with little training. The paper highlights an ITV documentary that's revealed inexperienced practitioners are offering "potentially deadly" cosmetic surgery. It quotes the health secretary, Wes Streeting, as saying it's "absolutely disgusting" that "Wild West" operators are putting people's lives at risk.

Many of the papers carry tributes to actor Timothy West following his death at the age of 90. The Daily Express said he "touched the nation's hearts" during appearances in Great Canal Journeys alongside his wife, Prunella Scales, who has dementia.

The Daily Telegraph says the couple's devotion to each other was obvious, while the Daily Mail says they shared "theatre's most heartfelt romance since Romeo and Juliet".

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