Newspaper headlines: 'Xmas strike chaos' and Qatar's 'war on equality'

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By BBC News
Staff
Reuters

The RMT rail union, headed by general secretary Mick Lynch, has announced a series of strikes before and after Christmas

A number of Wednesday's papers lead with the news that the RMT rail union is to stage a series of strikes before and after Christmas.

"When will we rein in the unions intent on Christmas chaos?" is the Daily Mail's headline. The paper says the strikes could cost the hospitality industry millions of pounds but that ministers don't want to be bounced into a settlement with the union because they are worried that significant pay rises would set a precedent.

In an editorial, the Sun accused what it calls "rail union thugs" of wrecking the first family Christmas since Covid struck. According to the Daily Express, Britain faces a "nightmare before Christmas", with thousands of civil servants, lorry drivers, postal workers, nurses, and security staff also set to down tools over the next two months.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the head of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, says menopausal women employed in the health service will be able to work from home if their symptoms require it. She says female staff should not have to "silently suffer" and that the change will boost the workforce in the long run. But the paper adds that one in five employees in NHS England is a woman of menopausal age, and that the policy could see thousands of staff take time off frontline duties at a time of record pressures.

The new head of the Royal College of GPs, Kamila Hawthorne, tells the Guardian that some of her patients - in the Welsh valleys - are refusing sick notes because they can't afford not to work. She also warns soaring food prices are leading to a rise in fatigue, mouth ulcers, and weak muscles as people are become deficient in key vitamins because they can't afford to eat well.

On its front page, the Times says there's been a big increase in gambling addictions. According to the report, nearly 600 people were referred to specialist NHS gambling clinics in the past six months, a 42% increase on the same period last year. Senior doctors tell the paper that clinics are full of "young men in football shirts" who have fallen foul of "predatory tactics" by betting firms.

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The i reports that a rebellion by almost 50 Conservative MPs has forced Rishi Sunak to scrap plans to introduce mandatory local housebuilding targets for councils. The proposal is part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which was to be debated in the Commons on Monday, but the government has now postponed it. The paper says the prime minister backed down in the first test of the strength of his leadership.

World Cup host Qatar is described as the "country that bans love" by the Daily Mirror. The paper says Fifa subjected the England squad to "extreme blackmail" to stop captain Harry Kane wearing a One Love armband in support of gay rights for the side's game against Iran.

In an editorial, the paper says bans on rainbow logos on hats and other clothing at the tournament demonstrates "a dictatorial bigotry from Fifa and the Qatari regime" and that the UK government is "letting us down" by failing to speak out.