Newspaper headlines: PM faces 'sewage rebellion' and spy balloon review

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By BBC News
Staff
Reuters

The Daily Telegraph leads on the security review to be carried out by the UK in response to the incursion of what it calls "Chinese spy balloons" into Western airspace. 

It explains that Britain will share and analyse intelligence with allies including the US.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is quoted saying the appearance of the balloons is "another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse".

The New York Times website reflects a sense of bafflement in the US about the other unidentified flying objects that have been shot down over the country in recent days.

"What's going on up there?" asks the headline. It says there are "theories but no answers" about the mystery craft. Both the Pentagon and intelligence agencies are reported to have stepped up investigations of unexplained incidents around military bases. 

The online edition of the Washington Post says pressure is mounting for the White House to reveal what it knows.

Elsewhere, the Times suggests the government is "backing away" from the idea of fining water firms up to £250m for spilling sewage into rivers. The paper says a forthcoming consultation on the plans will provide an opportunity to weaken them, after regulators described the penalties as "crazy". 

The i also leads on pollution - saying Rishi Sunak is facing a "Tory rebellion" over plans to scrap clean water regulations. 

The European Union rules could be ditched under the government's proposals to remove EU legislation from the statue books following Brexit. But the paper says peers hope to table an amendment to retain them.  

"Secret plot to unravel Brexit" is the headline in the Daily Mail. Former Brexit minister Lord Frost warns a "secret summit" of politicians and business leaders, held last week at a stately home in Oxfordshire, shows an intention to row back on deals made with the EU.