Newspaper headlines: 'D-day' for Johnson as he gets 'ready for battle'

1px transparent line
By BBC News
Staff
EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Most of the front pages preview Boris Johnson's appearance before the Commons privileges committee this afternoon.

The Times says that while Mr Johnson was prime minister, one of his most senior advisers warned him that it wasn't "realistic" to say that coronavirus guidance had been followed in Downing Street "at all times". According to the paper, half an hour later, Mr Johnson told the Commons it had been observed.

The i suggests it's "D day" for Mr Johnson. But it says a comeback by him may be backed by some ministers, if he survives the committee's report. His supporters believe that he would still have a "big role to play" in the future of the Conservative Party.

The Daily Mail's headline is: "Bullish Boris up for the fight". The Guardian believes the stakes could not be higher - and Mr Johnson faces a battle for his political future.

In its editorial, The Daily Telegraph takes a broader view. It argues that for him to admit the rules were broken - while acknowledging no-one realised this was the case - raises a serious question: why were the rest of us expected to follow them?

The Mirror has a front page mock-up of a schoolboy-style handwritten list of excuses from the former prime minister. Number one is: "It was my birthday and I didn't even get cake."

Metro paraphrases Mr Johnson's defence as: "They weren't proper whoppers."

For its lead, The Times focuses on a study from Oxford University that says taking the pill, or any other hormonal contraception, increases the risk of breast cancer by 25%. But it quotes the author of the report, saying the risk has to be viewed in the context of the many benefits of hormonal contraception - including protection from other female cancers.

The Telegraph leads on a report about Sir Keir Starmer's pension arrangements. It says the Labour leader's been accused of hypocrisy, after it emerged that he has a unique pension deal from his time as Director of Public Prosecutions.

The arrangement apparently allows him to avoid tax on his savings - even though Labour opposes the government's tax break for wealthy savers. But the Labour party is quoted saying: "The pension rules for the Director of Public Prosecution are set by the government of the day, not the DPP themselves".

The FT reports that plans to raise the state pension age to 68 as early as 2037 have been delayed because of falling life expectancy, and warnings from Conservative MPs that the move might provoke a backlash from middle-aged voters. It quotes a government insider saying: "They got cold feet."