Newspaper headlines: 'Inflation corner turned' and levelling up anger

The Daily Express highlights comments made by the Bank of England governor, who said Britain had "turned a corner" in the fight against inflation. According to the Daily Mail, Andrew Bailey's "upbeat verdict" on the economy has piled fresh pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to cut taxes. It says Mr Sunak risked a backlash yesterday by suggesting only "idiots" would fail to understand why he was refusing to do so, when inflation remained high and the public finances were still recovering from the pandemic.

The Times says it has been told that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt wants to extend the 5p cut to fuel duty for another year, if the economic outlook improves. He is understood to be considering announcing the move in his Spring Budget in March. The paper says Conservative MPs have told Mr Hunt that failing to keep the cut would be "political suicide", with one warning that "the 30 million people who rely on their cars cannot have their pockets pinched any further".

The Guardian says analysis of the government's levelling up fund has found that Conservative constituencies were awarded significantly more money than areas with similar levels of poverty. It says voters in Tory seats got £19 more per person than those in non-Conservative areas that were equally deprived. The paper claims the disclosure is "bound to provoke further fury" from some regional leaders who have accused Mr Sunak of offering pre-election bribes.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced anger after announcing the second round of his levelling-up funding

The Daily Telegraph reports that the UK and the US are at the "forefront" of the international campaign calling on Germany to send tanks to Ukraine. It says Ukraine's president "lost his temper" when discussing Berlin's hesitance with a German broadcaster, as officials in Kyiv fear that without the support they will be especially vulnerable to a fresh Russian assault in the spring. The Telegraph's leader column accuses German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of spending months desperately trying to avoid any serious commitment to a conflict that is virtually on his doorstep - and insists "the moment for serious engagement has arrived".

With the headline "No one is above the law", the Sun focuses on the criminal charge facing American actor Alec Baldwin after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a Western film set in 2021. It says he could be jailed for up to five years if he is found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when a prop gun went off. The Daily Mirror says Mr Baldwin denies culpability, arguing he was told the weapon he was rehearsing with did not contain live ammunition.

The Times highlights research that has identified the 10 hardest words to say. The study found we have most difficulty enunciating Irish names and foreign foods, but also get confused by creeping Americanisations such as "sked-yool" rather than the English version, "shed-yool". Hardest of all, though, is the name "Ee-fa", which the paper points out sounds "almost nothing like its spelling" of Aoife.