Newspaper headlines: 'Lake horror' and troops to act as 'strike breakers'

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By BBC News
Staff
PA Media

Emergency services at Babbs MIll Park in Kinghurst

Some of the front pages describe events in the West Midlands yesterday as "horror" and "terror" on a frozen lake. The Daily Express says four boys got into trouble when ice cracked underneath one of them and the remaining three rushed to help him. The Daily Mirror says as many as six youngsters may have fallen into the water. An eyewitness tells the Daily Telegraph she saw the children playing on the frozen lake and that people had shouted at them that it was not safe.

The Guardian and The Times report that the government will draft in members of the armed forces to cover for striking workers during walkouts by ambulance staff and Border Force officers. The Time says some 750 military personnel will drive ambulances and support the health service, but NHS bosses are concerned that there will still be serious disruption, and patients will be put at risk. According to the Guardian, some in the military have started to pose questions about the amount of assistance they are being asked to provide to civilian authorities. One source said such assistance used to be a last resort, but had now become a "go-to".

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Transport Secretary Mark Harper says upcoming rail strikes will force families to hold a "virtual Christmas". The paper says he is the first minister to suggest that the impact of strike action will be similar to that of Covid lockdowns. Mr Harper accuses the leadership of the rail union RMT of being "ideologically committed" to industrial action.

Ahead of her visit to Delhi, Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch told the Sun that Britain and India were on track to sign an "amazing" trade deal within a year. She insisted she would not discuss demands for Britain to issue thousands more student visas to Indian citizens.

Reuters

England manager Gareth Southgate said he would reflect on his position

A report in the Times says the National Grid has been considering whether to trigger emergency plans to fire up old coal power plants if cables from continental Europe fail to deliver enough electricity. The paper says cold weather is forecast to increase electricity demand during the teatime peak tonight to the highest level so far this winter. At the same time, calm conditions mean windfarms will produce less than a tenth of their maximum capacity.

According to the Financial Times, the Bank of England is likely to slow the pace of interest rate increases when it makes its next announcement on Thursday. The paper says investors are betting that the rate will go up by 0.5%, rather than 0.75%, as was the case last month.

The Sun is one of a number of papers reporting that players and fans are begging Gareth Southgate to stay on as England manager. The paper says there has been an outpouring of support after he said he would reflect on whether to carry on in the wake of England's defeat to France in the World Cup quarter-finals.

And finally, the Telegraph says England's footballers have adopted a cat that befriended them in Qatar. As the players left the hotel, the stray named Dave was put in a carrier and taken to a vet. Quarantine rules mean he will have to have his jabs and spend some time in isolation before he is reunited with his friends, in about four months' time.