Newspaper headlines: 'Vindictive' rail unions and 'talk show king' dies

Presentational grey line
By BBC News
Staff
Getty Images

The final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool will be affected by the Aslef strike

A number of the front pages condemn the latest strikes to be called by rail union leaders.

"Vindictive," is the how the Daily Mail describes the timing of the action. It says bosses at the Aslef and RMT unions have sparked fury by " targeting" the FA Cup Final, the Epsom Derby and the Eurovision Song Contest. Among those affected, according to the paper, will be Ukrainian refugees who have been handed subsidised tickets to Eurovision, which Liverpool is hosting on behalf of their country.

"Just how cynical can rail unions be?" the Daily Express asks. It accuses the train drivers' union of a plan to "wreak havoc" on some of the nation's best-loved events.

The Metro says the timing of the strikes will hit Ukrainians at Eurovision and "ruin" the Cup final for fans. The paper adapts a football chant for its headline "Ee aye addio, we've done the cup!"

"Spoil sports," declares The Sun's headline. It says Manchester City and Manchester United fans heading to Wembley, for their first ever FA Cup final tie, have been kicked where it hurts by rail-strike chiefs who support Chelsea and Arsenal. The RMT accused bosses of torpedoing negotiations, while Aslef said drivers have not had a pay rise since 2019 from firms it was still in dispute with.

The Daily Telegraph reports that an official investigation has concluded that the BBC chairman, Richard Sharp, breached the rules, in failing to declare his involvement in a £800,000 loan to Boris Johnson, prior to being appointed. But the paper says the the inquiry - which is expected to be published today - found that Mr Sharp's omission was "a technical breach". The Telegraph says allies of Mr Sharp believe the inquiry scotches any suggestion that he was appointed "as a consequence of the loan deal" and they think he will survive.

The Times, though, says it has been told that the findings are "damning". The paper thinks that Mr Sharp will battle to save his role as BBC chairman.

The inquiry into Richard Sharp's appointment is to be published later

"Please..help us," is the headline on the front of the Daily Mirror as it leads on what it calls "the forgotten famine". The paper reports that East Africa is in the grip of the worst drought since the 1984 famine that sparked Live Aid - with one person dying every 30 seconds. It carries a bleak photo of an elderly woman in Kenya, her arm wrapped round her clearly distressed great-grandson. The woman, whose name is Rantilei, tells the Mirror's chief reporter, Andy Lines: "We have nothing to eat or drink."

The Liberal Democrat peer and former children's presenter, Baroness Benjamin, features on the front of the Daily Telegraph, which reports that she has been chosen to carry the "Sovereign's Sceptre with the Dove" during the King's coronation. She tells the paper that her role, during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, "sends out a clear message that diversity and inclusion is being embraced" by the King. The Times calls the coronation a "beacon" of inclusion and diversity.