Newspaper headlines: NHS strikes 'deadlock' and Liz Truss's return

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By BBC News
Staff
PA Media

The Guardian has seen a statement from chief nurses at 10 leading hospitals in England, which warns that deadlock over pay is putting patients' lives at risk. They say "pay and reward" is central to the dispute - blaming years of below-inflation pay rises for a shortage in England of 47,000 nurses. The Daily Mail, meanwhile, reports that the NHS spent the equivalent of £400,000 a day last year on private ambulances and taxis for patients. An NHS spokesman tells the paper that making use of the independent and voluntary sectors helps to balance demand for emergency care.

The Daily Mirror and the Daily Express focus on the search in Lancashire for Nicola Bulley. Both papers carry images taken from a doorbell camera on the day she disappeared. The Express says detectives are attempting to access an electronic fitness tracker she was wearing to see if it can yield clues about her location. The paper says it hasn't been synced with her phone in days, but 'tech experts' are looking to hack into it remotely. Many of the reports describe doubts - among Nicola Bulley's friends and family - about the police theory that she fell into the River Wyre. A friend tells the Times the 45-year old was an incredibly strong swimmer.

The Daily Telegraph says Liz Truss is to give a speech in Japan later this month calling for a tougher approach to China - reigniting a leadership campaign row with Rishi Sunak. The paper says it's the first of a series of interventions being planned by the former prime minister, marking her return to the political fray. But allies of Mr Sunak tell the Times that the ex-PM is delusional - and her comments will cost the Conservatives votes. An unnamed former minister tells the paper that - three months before local elections - council candidates will be livid at her lack of self-awareness. Also leading on Liz Truss is the Metro, which has the headline "She Still Doesn't Get It".

The Financial Times says the Chinese spy balloon and its shooting down off the US east coast has undermined efforts to stabilise relations between the two countries. There's a question mark about whether President Xi knew about the operation, according to the FT - which also highlights criticism of the US response by Republicans. One senior congressman is quoted saying the device was shot down only once it had completed its surveillance mission, and should never have been allowed to enter US airspace.

There are glowing reviews for the finale of Happy Valley, shown on BBC One last night. For the Guardian it was "brutal, tender, funny, compelling and heart-breaking to the last". The Times says an "exquisitely bleak" final instalment was "surely Bafta-winning". According to the Sun, the BBC hopes that the show's climax will deliver its biggest ratings hit since the final episode of Line of Duty - with a more satisfying end to the story to boot.