Newspaper headlines: 'Knives out' for Mordaunt and NHS braces for heat

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By BBC News
Staff
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Liz Truss has the backing of former Brexit secretary Lord Frost

Many of today's papers are leading on scrutiny being directed at Conservative leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt by supporters of her rival Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

"Knives out for Penny!" says the Daily Express - after Ms Mordaunt again performed well in the latest round of the leadership race. The paper says there's now a "determined bid" among Ms Mordaunt's critics to "wreck" her hopes of becoming prime minister.

There's ample evidence of this in the Daily Mail, which sports the headline, "Mordaunt under the Microscope". It also devotes 10 pages to the contest and describes in detail the claims her enemies have made about her.

The paper raises questions about her attitude to women and transgender issues, the free press and her Royal Navy credentials - as well as suggesting that she was a "part-time minister".

She is also condemned by Lord Frost, a prominent backer of Liz Truss, who writes in The Telegraph that a government led by her could not succeed.

The Guardian thinks the contest is becoming "increasingly acrimonious" and that rival Tory camps are aiming their fire at Ms Mordaunt.

The i believes her rivals fear her popularity among the grassroots - who will choose the winner from the final two candidates. The paper carried out polling suggesting the public prefer her to Liz Truss and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak - even though she remains relatively obscure among voters.

The Mail's sketch-writer, Henry Deedes, believes Ms Truss gave a true-blue message during her campaign launch on Thursday - but her presentation remains a work in progress. Her "joints could do with a squirt of oil," he says.

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Sir Graham Brady announced the results of the second ballot round in the leadership contest on Thursday

The Financial Times notes the foreign secretary mistimed her entrance at the event and failed to remember the way out - symbolising a campaign struggling to find its bearings.

Macer Hall, the political editor of the Daily Express, believes the party's low-tax, free-marketeer wing is paying the price for disunity and there is now a desperate scramble to reunite the right.

The Times' editorial welcomes the upcoming TV debates, saying the candidates need to be subjected to forensic scrutiny to establish which of them is genuinely up to the job.

"Red hot alert" is The Mirror's headline, as it reports that NHS doctors fear a surge in heat-related illnesses and deaths as temperatures rocket towards 40 Celsius.

On its front page, the Sun pictures a bush fire approaching the holiday home of the footballer's wife, Rebekah Vardy, who was preparing to evacuate a Portuguese villa yesterday.

"One drink a day keeps the doctor away," says the Daily Telegraph, "but only if you're over 40". It's among several papers to report the study analysing the dangers of alcohol.

The Sun says it is bad news for younger adults, with anything more than a drink a week for men under 40 or two for women, putting them at higher risk of injuring themselves.

"Andrew drama heads to big screen" is The Times' headline as it describes how the story of Prince Andrew's infamous BBC Newsnight grilling is to be dramatised.

The Telegraph suggests Hugh Grant is in the frame to play the Queen's second son - although the actor has denied this.

The Daily Mirror thinks Gillian Anderson could play Emily Maitlis. It also says the Pizza Express in Woking - which was cited in one of Prince Andrew's answers - should "brace for a new global fanbase".