Newspaper headlines: 'Bad Friday' and 'King backs slavery research'

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By BBC News
Staff
Getty Images

The King has previously spoken about the "depths of his personal sorrow" over the slave trade

The Sun warns that Good Friday will be "Bad Friday" for people hoping to get away on holiday - predicting gridlock in the UK and "travel hell" for families. It says those going to France will be met by rioting and strikes once they finally get there.

"Standstill" is the headline for the Daily Mirror, which says the Easter getaway began at a snail's pace - while the online Independent starts its story with "Oh no, not again..."

The Daily Mail asks whether the King's backing for research into links between the monarchy and slavery will fuel calls for Britain to pay compensation. The paper's Richard Kay suggests it's a "well-meaning act of folly that will boost republicanism for decades". The Daily Telegraph notes that the King has not ruled out the possibility of paying reparations - though a Palace spokesman calls the idea "speculation".

The Times says the King has set a precedent that could create a deluge of historical inquiries into different elements of the royal past. But the paper quotes historian Alex von Tunzelmann as saying today's royals have "no need to feel worried" - no one thinks they are personally responsible for slavery, she says, but it is a positive way for them to address history.

The Lord Speaker, John McFall, tells the Guardian that the upper House needs more independent, expert peers. He stresses he is making no direct criticism of specific appointments, but says there are too many politicians, and former political aides, in the Lords. The Guardian puts the comments in the context of rows about allies whom Boris Johnson and Liz Truss reportedly want to appoint.

The turmoil in Scottish politics shows little sign of abating. The Telegraph says supporters of Kate Forbes - who came second in the contest to lead the SNP - think the election should be re-run. It says the legitimacy of the ballot has been "called into question" after the recent arrest of the former party chief executive, Peter Murrell. The Scottish Daily Mail thinks the man who won the ballot, Humza Yousaf, is now distancing himself from the Nicola Sturgeon era. It says he launched a "scathing attack" on his own party yesterday. The Spectator also says he has turned on the SNP establishment by telling reporters it was "very clear that the governance of the party was not as it should be".

There is plenty to choose from if you are looking for stories which show we are entering a bank holiday weekend. The Daily Star leads with moves by the Italian government to ban the use of English words in official documents. "Deadline" or "briefing" would be removed. "It's not our fault our lingo is so popular," argues the paper. The i is one of several papers to report a study which found Bronze Age men in the Balearic islands used hallucinogenic drugs.

And gripes about potholes make an appearance. An editorial in the Telegraph points out they are the scourge of motorists, damaging to bicycles, and a sign of the failure of local authorities. The Sun visits a street in Wiltshire where residents have turned their holey street into a crazy golf course as a joke. Play was interrupted, it reports, when a small car scraped its exhaust.