Newspaper headlines: 'Tests on China arrivals' and 'Queen's honour'

1px transparent line
By Staff
BBC News
Reuters

Several front pages feature the story that people travelling from China do not have Covid-19 before they can travel to the UK.

The Daily Mail says the "drastic" step of reimposing controls is over fears Beijing is withholding data on the virus, while the FT Weekend notes that Conservative MPs were calling on the government to act.

But in the Daily Telegraph, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith says the restrictions must not become a "slippery slope" to more tests and lockdowns.

The Times leads on a warning from Professor Sir Chris Whitty that thousands of middle-aged people are dying of heart conditions because they did not get statins or blood pressure medicines during the pandemic. England's chief medical officer, is said to have "raised the alarm" in government that Britain is now starting to see the after-effects of people staying away from GP surgeries. However, the paper says that ambulance delays could also be to blame for heart attacks and strokes not being treated promptly.

"King knights Queen" declares The Sun's headline, as it leads on the guitarist Brian May being given a knighthood in the New Year Honours. Sir Brian is quoted as saying he will use the title to "fight for justice".

The i Weekend says a row has "erupted" over the decision to recognise just four members of the England women's football team that won the European Championships. Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell says the decision is "out of sync" with other sporting victories, but the chairman of the sports honours committee, Sir Hugh Robertson, says the selective approach was to avoid a situation where "people who've done five minutes on the pitch... get an award".

The Daily Express leads on data from the Labour Party that shows more than 700 prisoners have escaped or been released in error from jails during the past decade. In one case, a sex offender raped a 16-year-old girl and sexually assaulted another young woman after being mistakenly released by the prison service. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said releases in error are extremely rare and there have been just 15 prison escapes since 2010, 90% fewer than in the preceding 12 years.

A number of papers feature predictions for the new year, with the i Weekend suggesting that ministers are "gearing up for strikes to dominate the news agenda in the coming months".

The Times says there is "trouble ahead" for the prime minister, with inflation, NHS waiting lists and immigration the biggest issues he needs to tackle.

The Daily Mirror suggests we could see another summer of heatwaves.

In an unconventional avian and celebrity crossover story, "Russell Crowe saves a crow called Russell" headlines The Sun, as it reports on a fundraising effort to help a bird in need. The owners of the feathered version of Crowe needed £1,500 for an operation because of a serious eye infection. The target was beaten, in part because of £500 pounds donated online by the Hollywood superstar. The paper has confirmed Russell's surgery has gone well, calling it a story with a "flappy ending".