Newspaper headlines: NI protocol 'rebellion' and gas hits 18-month low

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By BBC News
Staff
Peter Nicholls

Several front pages lead on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's possible new deal with the EU over the UK's post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.

The headline in the Daily Telegraph focuses on a warning from Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson that the proposed changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol, as they stand, "fall short".

The Times mentions that the DUP still described the possible deal as a "big moment" and that progress had been made. The paper also reflects on concerns within the Conservative Party about changes to the protocol, saying there's "significant reservations" among Eurosceptic Conservative MPs.

This point is also picked up by the Guardian, which says hardline Tory Brexiteers are "suspicious of concessions made by Britain" and by the Daily Mail, which reports that Mr Sunak has been told the threat of a Tory rebellion is "real".

The i Weekend says research shows the majority of voters want water company bosses whose firms pollute rivers to be threatened with criminal prosecution. According to a new poll, 72% of the 1,500 people questioned support the idea, while 45% said they were dissatisfied with the current condition of Britain's waterways, compared to the 16% who said they were satisfied. Charles Watson, who chairs the campaign group River Action, says the findings show it's time for politicians to take notice of the public mood.

The price of natural gas in Europe falling to its lowest level since the build-up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is the lead story for the FT Weekend. The paper says the benchmark price fell below 50 euros (£44) per megawatt hour yesterday for the first time in 18 months, as energy traders reported "growing confidence" that European countries can avoid power shortages for the rest of this winter and into the next.

Health leaders are calling for family doctors in deprived areas to be paid more than those working in wealthier areas, according to the Times. Research shows there are regional disparities in the number of GPs per patient in England, with shortages affecting poorer areas in particular. Prof Kamila Hawthorne from the Royal Society of GPs is quoted as saying that where a patient lives shouldn't "dictate the level of care they receive or the ease in which they can access it". A Department of Health spokesperson said the government was working to boost the number of GPs.

Finally, the Daily Telegraph says the publisher Puffin has made hundreds of changes to many of Roald Dahl's children's books. Sensitivity about topics such as race, gender and weight means certain words or passages have been updated in some of his stories. The paper says the word "fat" has been removed from every book, while in Matilda a mention of Rudyard Kipling has been cut in favour of Jane Austen.

There have been tweaks to his works before. Roald Dahl himself rewrote the descriptions of the Oompa Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but the Telegraph says the alterations have never been on this scale. Explaining the move, the Roald Dahl Story Company said that, when publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it's not unusual to review the language used, adding that all the changes had been "small and carefully considered".