Newspaper headlines: Doctor strike 'desperate measures' and 'Olivia mum speaks'
- Published
The Sunday Telegraph declares in its front page headline that the Tories are "at war" over the call by the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, for tactical voting to oust the SNP.
Mr Ross has told the paper that Tory voters should support the strongest candidate, external, even if it means electing a Labour MP - to prevent another independence referendum and to keep the UK together. The proposal is said to have "prompted fury" in the Conservatives' London headquarters and a senior Tory MP tells the paper that such pacts don't work as they are always a one-way street. The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has also rejected the proposal, saying it sounded like the Conservatives were accepting they were going to lose the next election.
The Sunday Times says a leaked memo suggests the Labour Party is planning to be "ruthless" in its new adverts, external. The first, which claims Rishi Sunak does not believe child abusers should be jailed, caused controversy. One yet to be released is expected to accuse the prime minister of decriminalising rape, by looking at how few people have been charged with the crime. The Observer says the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, was not consulted about the release of the first advert, external.
The paper leads on claims that consultants are facing threats if they refuse to do extra shifts, during this week's strike by junior doctors. A senior consultant tells the Observer she has been warned she might not be paid if she refused to work outside her specialism, external. Locums in one trust are reported to have been offered £86 an hour to cover night shifts.
The Mail on Sunday describes the King as being at "loggerheads" with Church leaders over his desire for a "diverse" coronation, with non-Christians taking part in the ceremony, external. Church sources say that the centuries-old canon law would bar other faith leaders reading prayers during the service. A royal commentator suggests the debate is delaying the release of the Coronation's Order of Service - a claim denied by Buckingham Palace.
Meanwhile the Sunday Express, external predicts that the coronation will help boost the economy and divert attention away from the local election results.
The mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, the nine-year-old who was shot dead in her home in Liverpool, tells the Sunday Mirror that she wants to create a memorial garden to help steer children away from trouble. Cheryl Korbel also speaks of getting guns off the streets, external.
The Sun on Sunday reports that the high security Frankland jail in County Durham is installing phones in the cells of inmates, external. The phones are being fitted to avoid queuing in communal areas. The Prison Service says there are strict time limits, risk assessments and monitoring of phone calls. But the Sun wants the scheme scrapped, calling it a "complete waste of taxpayer money."
And fittingly for Easter Sunday, the Mail asks if Jesus visited Cornwall. The writer, Glyn Lewis, cites carvings in a stone arch and local place names to suggest Jesus visited the county with his uncle, external. The Mail suggests the truth will never be proved but it's worth noting that Christian churches opened in the south west before anywhere else in Britain.
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- Published3 April 2023