Newspaper headlines: Sinn Fein's 'seismic' win and 'leaked' Beergate memo

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By BBC News
Staff
Reuters

Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill and Mary Lou McDonald were jubilant after Sinn Fein were voted as the largest party in Northern Ireland

Sinn Fein's victory in Northern Ireland's Assembly elections features on many front pages.

For the Observer, Sinn Fein's victory in the Stormont elections was "seismic".

But the Sunday Times believes Northern Ireland is in a "febrile state" and urges both Sinn Fein and the DUP to work with Westminster and Brussels to find a long-term solution. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, has warned Brussels to "fix" the post-Brexit trading arrangements or jeopardise the peace process.

Elsewhere, the Mail on Sunday describes the leaked memo about Sir Keir Starmer's so-called "beergate" meeting as a "bombshell document" which it believes will "shatter" the Labour leader's version of events.

It says the memo makes five "damning revelations" including that the curries and beers were pre-arranged - for what Sir Keir has insisted was a work event.

The Sunday Times says the Labour leader is now facing a "crisis" as his curry claim "unravels". However, the Observer says legal experts have questioned the significance of the memo and adds that Sir Keir's team remain confident no rules were broken.

PA Media

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the Durham event was for work and that no Covid rules were broken

The Sunday Mirror is one of several papers to show the preparations for Russia's Victory Day parade tomorrow - with pictures of huge nuclear missiles being pulled through Moscow's Red Square.

But as the Sun notes, Ukraine's "heroic" defenders have scotched President Putin's hopes of having anything to celebrate.

The Observer agrees that Russia looks very far from any triumph, and adds that all Moscow's options going forward are fraught with danger.

It speculates that President Putin could use the opportunity to announce a mass mobilisation of reserves or officially declare war, which would allow him to call up more personnel and resources.

The Sunday Times shines a spotlight on the libel action brought by Rebekah Vardy against Coleen Rooney which comes before the Royal Courts of Justice this week.

The paper says those close to the case have described it as like a train heading towards a cliff edge with neither of the two passengers on board willing to disembark. With the legal fees said to be approaching £3m, the paper concludes there may be victory in the end for one of the women, but little glory.

The Mail on Sunday looks at the judge who will preside over what it calls the "war of the wags". It says Mrs Justice Steyn has previously considered such weighty cases as Guantanamo prisoners and Saudi arms deals and describes her as "formidable".

Finally, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge want to be addressed by their name and not their titles - according to the Sunday Mirror - in what the paper describes as a "huge shake up" of "stuffy" royal protocol.

According to a "royal source", Prince William and Catherine also want to scrap curtsies and bows when on duty. The paper says the couple have been motivated by their recent visit to the Caribbean - which it describes as "disastrous" - and says the prince now wants to "tear up the rule book to move with the times".

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