Newspaper headlines: Cancer nurses strike, and £19bn in unclaimed benefits

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By BBC News
Staff
EPA

General Secretary of the Royal College of Nurses Pat Cullen with nurses outside the High Court in London last week

A mix of stories lead the newspaper front pages this Bank Holiday Monday.

The Financial Times leads on the perilous situation at First Republic Bank, reporting that at least three bids have been made for the embattled US lender. The paper reports that shares in the bank have lost 97% of their value this year.

The report quotes the veteran investor Charlie Munger - vice chair of Warren Buffet's company Berkshire Hathaway - who says American banks are full of what he calls "bad loans" against commercial property.

Under the headline "Sunak eyes more Help To Buy", the Times reports that help for first-time buyers is being discussed within the Treasury, and may be announced in the Autumn Statement.

It says a new version of Help to Buy, the government equity loans that were used by more than 350,000 home buyers, is under consideration

As nurses across half of trusts in England strike on Monday, the i newspaper reports that the Royal College of Nursing is poised to ballot its members on new strike action that could run up to Christmas.

That's despite, the paper says, a new NHS pay offer from the government, which is expected to be approved by most health unions this week.

Meanwhile, the Guardian carries research that suggests lower income households are missing out on at least £19bn a year in unclaimed welfare payments.

It says "the sheer complexity of the benefits system, a lack of public awareness of the available support and fear of being perceived as 'benefit scroungers' all contribute to the high levels of unclaimed or underclaimed benefits".

Reuters

At least three bids have reportedly been made for embattled US lender First Republic Bank

Comments by Albania's prime minister at an economic forum in Greece are picked up by the Daily Telegraph, as Edi Rama said the UK government had sought to blame his country for Channel migration.

Last year, Albanians made up around a third of more than 45,000 people who arrived in Britain on small boats. In October, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in the Commons: "If Labour were in charge they would be allowing all the Albanian criminals to come to this country". This was met with strong criticism, and in March Mr Rama said the home secretary was singling out the Albanian community in what was a "disgraceful moment for British politics".

According to the Telegraph, Albania's PM said, of Britain: "They are going through something of a nervous breakdown as a country, so we have to understand them."

The Daily Mail says the Coronation will contribute a £1bn boost to the UK economy this month, along with Eurovision and two bank holidays. It reports that 62 million pints of beer will be drunk in extended opening hours this coming weekend.

The novelist Irvine Welsh has said he no longer spends time in pubs to research the more unsavoury characters in his books. The Times reports that Mr Welsh now trawls Twitter to find what he calls "nutcases".

The paper quotes the writer as saying: "You go into this crackpot world just by going into their accounts, looking at their tweets, looking at who they are tweeting to and what they're tweeting about."

Finally, the Telegraph features the story of Cooper the golden retriever, who walked 40 miles over 27 days, back to his original owner's house, after being rehomed.

The paper reports that the dog from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland jumped out of the car after arriving at his second home, "bundling" his new owner out of the way, before embarking on the journey. He is now eating small meals to build his strength up, after losing weight on his walk.