Newspaper headlines: 'Suella's picking timebomb' and 'UK's drones for Kyiv'

Suella Braverman speaks at the podium of the National Conservatism conferencePA Media

Colleagues of Suella Braverman have reportedly accused her of making a bid for the future leadership of the Conservative party in her speech on immigration on Monday

By BBC News
Staff

"Quit the PM pitch and stick to the day job" is the advice given to the home secretary by "despairing" Conservative MPs, according to the Guardian. The paper says colleagues of Suella Braverman have accused her of making a bid for the future leadership of the party in her speech on immigration yesterday. According to the paper, Tory MPs have privately condemned what they call her "outrageous" address, saying it undermined Rishi Sunak's authority.

In contrast, the Daily Express describes the home secretary's speech as "barnstorming". In an opinion piece, the paper says her words were "peppered with self evident truths". And it appeals for "the rancour" to be taken out of the discussion. "Sustainable immigration is sensible, not racist," the Express says.

The Daily Telegraph reports that government ministers have been warned of a sharp rise in immigration by the next election. The paper says a document, sent to No 10 last year, talks of an influx of another 1.1m foreign workers and students in 2024, unless ministers take action to meet the Conservative party's 2019 manifesto commitment, to "bring overall numbers down". A source tells the paper that the analysis, by Home Office officials, "was before the current PM's time".

The Daily Mail leads on what it calls "Labour's cynical ploy to hand votes to non-British citizens and 16-year-olds" to "rig" future elections. The paper says the cabinet minister, Michael Gove, has written a strongly-worded letter challenging Sir Keir Starmer to answer claims that he wants to undermine Brexit by granting EU citizens the vote.

The Times reports that a fifth of all taxpayers will now be in the higher 40p band because of a six-year freeze on thresholds. The paper says the findings, by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, have intensified calls from the Conservative right for Rishi Sunak to bring forward tax cuts, in the wake of the party's disastrous performance in the recent local elections. A Treasury spokesman says the government has prioritised raising the tax-free personal allowance to benefit lower earners.

The Financial Times is one of a number of papers to picture Rishi Sunak welcoming Volodymyr Zelensky to the prime minister's official residence yesterday. "Embrace and promise of drones for Kyiv," is the Daily Telegraph's caption above a photo of the two leaders hugging at Chequers. The Times says the prime minister compared the Ukrainian president to Winston Churchill, during his "whistle-stop" visit.

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Mr Sunak hosted Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky at Chequers during his impromptu visit to the UK

The i newspaper says it understands that Britain will back Nato membership for Ukraine, after the war with Russia has ended. According to the paper, Mr Sunak gave assurances to President Zelensky yesterday. It says most Nato member states have refused to give public backing to the idea, although the majority are believed to support the change.

"Stop Gear" is the headline on the front of the Sun. The paper reports that the BBC's Top Gear series "looks doomed", after it says bulldozers started digging up the test track where Freddie Flintoff was injured in a crash in December, and the show was put on hold. The paper says the Top Gear base at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey is going to be turned into a huge housing estate. There is no word from the BBC.