Newspaper headlines: Tory MP's 'porn shame' and 'fear of energy crisis'

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By BBC News
Staff
Reuters

Thursday's Express leads on demands for a culture change at Westminster after a Conservative MP was accused of watching pornography on his mobile phone in the Commons.

It quotes Labour's Harriet Harman, who said it should not be necessary to tell MPs not to behave in such a way, but that a rule might need to be added to their code of conduct. The Metro reports that a female MP tried to take a photo of the unnamed man viewing the material, but was unable to capture it. The Mirror says it's a "new low" for what it describes as the "sleazy party".

The Telegraph leads on an interview with Chancellor Rishi Sunak in which he said he would consider introducing a windfall tax on energy companies' profits if they failed to make "investments in our country and in our energy security". The paper says Treasury sources have described the comments to the Mumsnet website as a "warning shot" to firms to start investing significant sums "soon". The paper points to a split at the top of government, as Boris Johnson has said the measure would be a "tax on business".

The i picks up on Mr Sunak saying in the same interview that it would be "silly" to set out further support to help families with rising energy bills before it is clear what will happen with the price cap later in the year.

The Guardian leads on fears that Europe could be on the "brink of a major energy crisis that could further drive up household bills" after Russia halted gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. The Financial Times says the price of wholesale gas "soared" after Moscow "turned off the taps".

The front page of the the Mail reports that Durham Constabulary is considering a request from a Conservative MP to review the decision to clear the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, of an alleged breach of lockdown rules.

The force said it had replied to a letter from Richard Holden "as a courtesy". Sir Keir denied breaking any rules after he was pictured holding a bottle of beer while in the constituency office of MP Mary Foy after a day of campaigning in April last year.

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According to The Times, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has told prison officers to stop referring to inmates as "residents" and to cells as "rooms". It's apparently because of fears that so-called "woke" language is damaging public confidence in the criminal justice system.

"Gospel Truth: I'm done" is the headline on the front of The Sun. The paper reports that boxer Tyson Fury has said he's definitely hanging up his gloves for good after successfully defending his WBC World heavyweight title against fellow Briton Dillian Whyte. Fury said in an interview with Piers Morgan that he was quitting now as he had "umpteen belts", and plenty of money, success, fame, and glory.