Newspaper headlines: 'Covid cover-up' and 'AI extinction fears'

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By BBC News
Staff
Reuters

Experts and leaders in the field of AI - including Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI - have issued a warning about the dangers posed by the technology

A number of Wednesday's papers lead with a row between the government and the Covid-19 inquiry over calls to submit WhatsApp messages exchanged between former PM Boris Johnson and others during the pandemic.

The Daily Telegraph says Rishi Sunak has had to deny accusations that he is trying to cover up ministers' actions during the pandemic. The paper also quotes an ally of Mr Johnson's saying he is "just a distraction in this" and that the messages the government doesn't want to be disclosed are Mr Sunak's.

The Daily Mirror carries a picture of Mr Johnson out for a jog on Tuesday alongside the headline: "Running & hiding". It says the relatives of people who died in the pandemic have added their voices to those calling for the documents to be handed over but that the Cabinet Office is now claiming it no longer holds the relevant messages. The online Independent says the claims and counterclaims about who has handed over what mean the whole episode is at risk of descending into farce.

The Guardian says the prime minister is even facing calls from within his own party to hand over the messages and quotes a spokesperson for Mr Johnson saying he has "no objection" to his Whatsapp messages - plus 24 notebooks - being submitted.

The Times and the Daily Mail both lead with Tuesday's warning from AI industry chiefs that what they're developing could threaten humanity. A statement signed by 350 AI experts and backed by a number of leading tech CEOs said the technology could be used, among other things, to quickly build weapons of mass destruction or "enfeeble" dependent humans. But the Times also says some experts think the focus on existential threats is distracting from more immediate dangers, such as the demise of democracy.

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Western leaders are said to be pressuring Turkey's President Erdogan to approve Sweden's accession to Nato following his victory in a run-off election on Sunday

The Daily Express reports some civil servants are considering strike action over government plans to deport people arriving in the UK illegally to Rwanda and that Tory MPs have called for anyone who takes part to be sacked. The Sun has the same story, and in an editorial says it would be a "disgrace" if strikes were to defy the process of elected government.

The Financial Times says Western leaders have been "raising pressure" on Turkey to allow Sweden to join Nato. It says US President Joe Biden and his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, have both urged Ankara to drop its objections to Swedish membership, as has Norway. Writing for the paper, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says that "only [Russian president] Vladimir Putin has anything to gain from Sweden remaining outside of Nato".

And the Sun reports that This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby will return on Monday despite pressure to step down amid the controversy surrounding Phillip Schofield, who resigned from the show last week. The paper quotes former presenter Eamonn Holmes saying Willoughby should "follow Phil out the door" but says she remains "defiant".