Newspaper headlines: Cash for honours probe 'deepens crisis for royals'

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By BBC News
Staff
Getty Images

Clarence House said Prince Charles had "no knowledge of the alleged offer of honours or British citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities"

Most front pages on Thursday focus on a decision by the police to investigate whether one of Prince Charles' charities offered to help a Saudi donor secure an honour and UK citizenship.

The Times says the monarchy has been "plunged into further crisis".

In its opinion column, the paper argues that the allegations - along with the civil claim for sexual assault in the US, which the Duke of York has settled - have "weakened" the royal family.

The possibility that the Prince of Wales could be interviewed by detectives is described by The Daily Mail as a "bombshell for the royals".

It is one of several papers to feature on its front page a picture of the Queen meeting officials on Wednesday at Windsor Castle.

Its leader points out that she should be looking forward to her Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Instead, it says, "the royal family has suffered a traumatic 48 hours".

There is anger in the Sun about a ruling by the Supreme Court, which states that suspects in criminal cases should not be named, in order to protect their privacy.

The decision applies to those who have been arrested but not yet charged.

Under the headline "triumph for evil", the paper argues that in many past cases, the identification of suspects has led to victims and witnesses coming forward with vital evidence.

The Financial Times reports that France is calling for a revamp of Europe's security framework, in response to the standoff with Russia over Ukraine.

The country's foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, tells the paper that the situation has exposed how old arrangements, such as arms control pacts, have become "nearly obsolete or irrelevant".

The Guardian examines how the US and Britain have sought to fend off the threat of Russian military action, "in part by going public with an unusual amount of intelligence".

The paper suggests that by publishing details of potential Russian tactics and plots, the countries have attempted to beat Moscow at "information warfare" - something it has largely dominated in recent years.

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New official guidance to schools in England - about how to tackle controversial political and social issues in the classroom - do not impress the i newspaper.

Its editorial column accepts that it is reasonable to remind teachers of their duty to be politically impartial - but it goes on to suggest that it is no coincidence that the package has been announced at a time when "some current Cabinet ministers are keen to wage a so-called war on woke".

The Mirror marks the arrival of the latest winter storms in Britain with the headline "stay indoors".

It says that as parts of the country are being battered by Storm Dudley, there are fears that Storm Eunice - which will arrive on Friday - could be "the UK's worst since 1990".

Finally, the Daily Telegraph reports that the rollout of smart energy meters has been put on hold in part of Yorkshire.

The paper suggests that the radio frequencies the meters use to send data from people's homes to suppliers are too close to those used by the RAF Fylingdales nuclear missile detection system.

It reports that "new technology" is being developed to get around the problem, which affects some properties in the North York Moors National Park.