Newspaper headlines: 'Strikes to escalate' and 'toxic' Sandhurst culture

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By Staff
BBC News
Reuters

The looming prospect of further strike action in the new year features heavily on the front pages.

The TSSA rail union is planning to escalate strikes in the new year, according to the i's lead story. A spokesperson tells the paper that different groups of workers, like station staff and controllers, will be balloted about industrial action separately. This would allow each group to walk out on a different day within the same week, causing more disruption, the paper says.

Some Conservative MPs have told the Daily Mail that unions are plotting a "de facto general strike in 2023". The paper says a "union-backed" organisation called Strike Map has launched a scheme offering prizes to left-wing activists who attend multiple picket lines, even if they work in a different industry. But the paper also reports that the RMT union and industry bosses are "nearly there" in their efforts to agree a pay deal.

An editorial in the Daily Telegraph says the walkouts are causing untold damage to the economy, arguing the government needs to consider much more robust ways of breaking strikes. The paper also calls on ministers to introduce legislation requiring unions to provide a minimum service in industries outside public transport like the NHS.

The Times says an overhaul of the government's counter-extremism programme, Prevent, has been delayed by a cabinet row between Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.

The paper reports Ms Braverman is ready to publish an independent review that was completed in the summer and to accept all its recommendations, but adds she wants to remove from the report the names of individuals and groups accused of extremism over fears the Home Office could be exposed to libel claims. However, according to the article, Mr Gove believes the names should be published to provide the most accurate picture of extremism.

The Guardian says hundreds of voluntary organisations have been forced to close or scale back operations because of government delays in replacing EU funds. The paper says exact allocations from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund have now been announced - but the Welsh government says Wales is getting £772m less than it used to under EU funding. The UK government denies this is the case, but Scotland also says it's worse off.

Under the headline "Sandhurst urged to tackle toxic culture", the Daily Telegraph highlights calls for the military academy to take action over what's described as an epidemic of sexual assault. A charity for female military personnel who've experienced sexual assault and rape, Salute Her UK, says nearly 200 women have sought help after suffering abuse at Sandhurst, over a period of 20 years.

The charity's chief executive, Paula Edwards, tells the paper that a lack of action by those at the top had resulted in a "toxic culture of sexual assault". In response, the Ministry of Defence said it had a "zero tolerance approach" to sexual assault in the armed forces.

"Clueless" is the Sun's verdict of police forces in England and Wales, after official figures showed that investigations into more than a million burglaries and thefts were dropped last year because detectives couldn't find a suspect. The proportion of all crimes that result in a suspect being arrested and charged has fallen to just 5.7% - down from 15% seven years ago.