Newspaper headlines: 'General strike threat' and fears of £3,850 energy bills

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By BBC News
Staff
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UK National Security Advisor Sir Stephen Lovegrove, pictured left talking to his US counterpart, has warned that the West is at risk of stumbling into a nuclear war

A variety of stories lead Thursday's papers.

The Guardian says unions are threatening to hold a general strike this year, after it was announced that rail workers had voted for further industrial action later this summer. The paper adds that divisions between the unions and Labour are expected to grow after Sir Keir Starmer sacked shadow transport minister Sam Tarry for making unauthorised media appearances while joining strikes on a picket line on Wednesday.

The i reports that the RMT plans to call for a general strike if the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, becomes the next prime minister and introduces laws to limit workers' ability to walk out.

In the Financial Times, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Frances O'Grady, criticises the proposed laws, accusing the government of attacking "a fundamental British liberty".

"Shocking" reads the headline in the Daily Mirror. The paper says that experts believe energy bills this winter could reach as much as £500 for one month.

The Times says that could mean an annual cost of nearly £4,000, with bills remaining above £3,000 a year until 2024. The paper quotes experts saying that the rise could push millions of households into financial hardship, as Russia further limits gas supplies to Europe.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the UK's national security adviser, has warned that the West and China risk "miscalculating" their way into nuclear war and that "strategic stability is at risk".

According to The Times, Sir Stephen says the "world's superpowers understood each other better during the Cold War" but that a "breakdown in communications" in the years since means there's a greater risk of tensions accidentally escalating.

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The Daily Mirror says that allies of Boris Johnson are planning to find a safe Conservative seat for him to launch his political comeback. It claims recent polls suggest the outgoing prime minister is in danger of losing Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the next election. Sources have told the paper that Mr Johnson is "testing the water" over moving to a constituency with a larger Tory majority - and that his allies are prepared to offer knighthoods and peerages to MPs who are willing to give up their seats for him.

"United for our boys" says the Sun, which reports that both leadership contenders, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, have come together to agree pledges on supporting veterans. It said both had backed the paper's calls to maintain the current budget and staffing levels for the Office for Veterans' Affairs - including its Cabinet-level minister - and to protect British troops who served in Northern Ireland from what it called "vexatious and repeated investigations".

The Independent warns that this month is the driest July in England for more than a century. The Metro says an "official drought is on the cards" as Met Office figures show 0.6in (1.5cm) of rain has fallen on average this month, less than a quarter of the usual amount. Slightly less was recorded in July 1911.

And the Daily Mail asks: "Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a state-of-the-art drone flying in with prescriptions from Boots". It says the chemist has become the first in the UK to transport medication via unmanned aerial vehicle. According to the paper, the delivery - to a hospital on the Isle of Wight - took just half-an-hour, compared with the normal time of four hours.