Newspaper headlines: Anna Wintour's 'top honour' and 'UK mortgage rip-off'

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By BBC News
Staff

The Guardian says Boris Johnson has asked his allies not to vote against the report, which concluded he repeatedly lied about parties in Downing Street during lockdown. The paper says Conservative MPs have fallen out of love with the former prime minister, with fewer than 10 out of 350 supporting him publicly. The Times quotes friends of the former premier, who say the request is an attempt to move on, so that he can not be perceived as causing party disunity. But critics say he wants to avoid a humiliation.

The Times also reports the government is withholding 25 notebooks from Mr Johnson's time in office after a review by the security services found pages of highly sensitive material. A source close to Mr Johnson insisted there was no national security sensitive material, describing them as daily jottings from unclassified meetings.

The Daily Express says the King is to take advice on whether to treat Mr Johnson in the same way as other former prime ministers. The paper reports the monarch would normally be expected to invite him to state occasions and make him a Knight of the Garter. One constitutional expert tells the paper the King is in a potentially embarrassing position, because the honour is an order of chivalry.

The Daily Mail's front page hails Mr Johnson's arrival to the paper as a columnist, his first contribution not about politics, but rather a weight-loss drug which it says the whole world is talking about.

Reuters

Boris Johnson runs near his Oxfordshire home

The rest of the Mail's front page laments the UK's first hose pipe ban of the year complaining that summer has not even officially started yet. The Sun in an editorial argues it is unforgivable for the taps to run dry after a few warm days.

City traders are betting interest rates will be close to six percent before Christmas, according to the Guardian. The paper describes a Tory timebomb that will rock millions of voters due to come off their fixed rates before they go to the polls. The i newspaper reports high street banks have made billions by increasing mortgages without passing interest rate rises on to savers.

The Daily Telegraph leads on an interview with the former head of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who it says is blaming Brexit for high inflation. Mr Carney tells the paper "there's no joy in saying I told you so".

The paper also reveals the Home Office and the French government have launched a plane to constantly fly over the English Channel to help counter small boat crossings. The Telegraph reports that unlike the drones currently used to track the boats, the plane can fly in all weather conditions and carry half a dozen people.

The former human rights lawyer, Baroness Helena Kennedy, writes in the Financial Times Weekend that it may be unwise to immediately repeal the law which was used, earlier this week, to jail a woman for terminating her pregnancy later than the legal limit. She says it should be reformed at some point, but doing so when culture wars are raging could mean women's rights end up being reduced rather than expanded.