Newspaper headlines: 'More police boots on ground' and Coronation invite 'backlash'

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By BBC News
Staff

There is anger in the Daily Telegraph that China's vice-president Han Zheng is set to represent Beijing at the Coronation of King Charles.

The paper calls him the "architect" of China's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. It says the move "threatens a diplomatic storm".

The Daily Mail says that Conservative "China hawks" led by the former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith have described the invitation as "outrageous". The Mail also questions the presence of Michelle O'Neill, the vice president of Sinn Fein. It says that in contrast Lady Pamela Hicks - a bridesmaid to the late Queen - whose father Lord Mountbatten was murdered by the IRA - has been snubbed. Its headline is "Invitations to put you off your Coronation Quiche".

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The Coronation of the King and Camilla, the Queen Consort is days away

According to the Guardian, Department of Health officials have raised concerns about the conduct of the Health Secretary Steve Barclay. Sources tell the paper civil servants have informally complained about the way they believe they and colleagues had been treated, including "bullying" and other "bad behaviour." An ally of Mr Barclay says the allegations are totally untrue. The Department of Health says it hasn't received any formal complaints about ministers.

The Financial Times leads on criticism from the computer game company, Activision Blizzard, after the UK's competition regulator blocked its acquisition by Microsoft. The paper says the move drew a "furious response" from the video games maker, which said the ruling contradicted the UK's ambitions to become an attrac­tive country to build technology busi­nesses. One shareholder told the FT: "It's a zombie deal now."

The Times reports that almost 60 former sub-postmasters and mistresses, who were wrongly accused of stealing money after a computer accounting error. have died before the end of the public inquiry. It quotes campaigners saying the figures show that postmasters are being "timed out" in negotiations on compensation and it calls on ministers to intervene. Up to £1bn of taxpayers' money has been set aside for compensation claims, but delays and legal wrangling could mean more victims fail to receive a settlement while they are alive, the paper concludes.

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The UK competition watchdog has blocked the makers of computer game Call of Duty, Activision Blizzard, from being acquired by Microsoft

The lead in the Daily Express is: "Suella: I'll put more police boots on the ground". Writing for the paper, the Home Secretary Suella Braverman pledges to pursue common-sense policing, which she says, means "the highest standards of conduct" with no political correctness, no unnecessary red tape, but "proper police work". She adds: "It's bad news for criminals and good news for the law-abiding majority."

On its front page, the Daily Mirror suggests that Milly Dowler's murderer, Levi Bellfield, has signed a written confession saying he killed Lin and Megan Russell in Kent in 1996. Michael Stone, who was convicted of the killings two years later, tells the paper from prison: "It's a crime I didn't commit."

The i leads on health warnings over popular weight loss drugs, being sold illegally on Facebook. It has found what it calls black market products for sale, in a slimming group on the social media platform. The Royal College of GPs warns of a "genuine threat to patient safety", from buying drugs online without a prescription.