Newspaper headlines: 'Cyclists may need number plates' and Pop Idol Darius dead

By BBC News
Staff

The Financial Times reports that Tuesday's pay figures from the Office for National Statistics "will provide little comfort that inflation is coming under control".

Economists tell the paper that despite pay falling at its fastest rate on record, when adjusted for inflation wage growth "has more momentum than the Bank of England can tolerate", and this will put pressure on officials to raise interest rates again next month.

The Times calls the figures "grim" and says that "low paid workers will bear the brunt" of the slowdown in growth and rising interest rates.

The Sun says that despite the drop "the nation will be forced to wait several weeks more for a new prime minister to take charge". It adds that "the vacuum of Tory leadership in No 10 is being felt more keenly with every passing day".

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The Guardian leads on its report of a leaked recording, in which Liz Truss says British workers need "more graft" and lack the "skill and application" of their foreign counterparts.

In the tape, Ms Truss can be heard saying there seemed little desire to change the working culture in the UK so it can become more prosperous. She was the chief secretary to the Treasury at the time she made the comments.

The Daily Mirror highlights a YouGov poll which suggests voters "have little confidence" in the two Conservative leadership contenders to "make the right decisions" about issues such as the cost of living, Brexit and Covid.

It says that Ms Truss and Mr Sunak came out below Boris Johnson, who had the confidence of just one in three surveyed.

An investigation in the Sun says that the number of British Army troops failing compulsory drug tests has more than doubled in a year.

Sources tell the paper that established personnel, often responsible for recruitment, are "pushing drugs onto newcomers". The Ministry of Defence says people caught dealing or taking drugs "can expect to be discharged".

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"Cyclists may need number plates" is the headline in the Daily Mail, which says that a radical shake-up is under way of road laws. It says a review has been launched amid "growing belief among ministers" that people who ride bikes should be subject to the same laws as motorists. The paper reports cyclists could require insurance so they can be traced easily.

But the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tells the Times that he's "not attracted to the bureaucracy of registration plates" on bicycles.

However, he does believe that cyclists should be fined for breaking speed limits in residential areas saying that "there is definitely a hard core of cyclists who seem to think the laws of the road don't apply to them".

And the Daily Express declares that "traditional television is under threat", as it reveals that younger viewers watch almost seven times less than older people.

It highlights a report by Ofcom which found that audiences aged 65 and over watch scheduled programmes for an average of nearly six hours a day, while 16 to 24-year-olds watch less than an hour as they turn to streaming services instead.