Newspaper headlines: Putin defiant and 'fury' over new Lawrence suspect

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By BBC News
Staff
EPA

A number of papers lead with a televised address to the nation by Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday night

A number of Tuesday's papers report on the aftermath of the attempted mutiny by the Wagner Group in Russia over the weekend.

The i leads on what it calls a "fiery" televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday night in which he promised retribution against the rebellion's organisers. The paper highlights a comment by a Russian MP who said the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, should receive "a bullet to the head". That, according to the article, suggests that the regime in Moscow is likely to respond to the mutiny by increasing repression.

In an editorial, the Times warns that Putin could choose to escalate the war in Ukraine in the hope of "diverting attention from his growing troubles at home". The paper says it would be foolhardy to bet on his imminent overthrow and that Europe will have to brace itself for more upheaval as he fights for the survival of his regime.

The Guardian reports that the Wagner Group appeared to be continuing some of its operations yesterday. The mercenaries told the paper their five recruitment centres across Russia were open for business as usual and that some of their fighters had returned to their bases in the Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine.

On its front page, the Daily Telegraph highlights a call by the UK's Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, for more troops and a bigger defence budget in response to the threat from Moscow. He says Britain should "never again be unprepared as our forebears were" during the rise of Hitler in the 1930s. According to the paper, the general compared the UK's "outdated" tanks to "rotary dial phones in an iPhone age".

The Financial Times has spoken to the deputy head of the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath, who warns that central banks might have to tolerate a longer period of inflation above their 2% target in order to avert a financial crisis. She said further significant interest rate rises could push some heavily-indebted European countries into financial difficulties.

PA Media

The world's last gaslit cinema - the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds - is reopening on Friday following a major refurbishment

Several papers report that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is preparing to take on the banks over what the Daily Mail calls the "stingy interest rates offered to many savers". The paper says banks have been accused of profiteering by hiking interest rates for borrowers while leaving rates for savers low. The Times says Mr Hunt has ordered civil servants to draw up plans to force banks to increase rates on savings accounts more quickly.

The Sun is one of a number of papers highlighting a Home Office report which says the cost of sending each asylum seeker to Rwanda could be £169,000. In an editorial, the paper describes the figure as staggering, but says allowing migrants to keep coming could ultimately cost £11bn a year in accommodation bills.

And the Guardian reports that the world's last gaslit cinema - the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds - is reopening on Friday following a major refurbishment. The cinema first opened its doors shortly before the onset of the First World War. According to the paper, women were at the mercy of men who used the darkness as a cover to grope them - so gas lamps were installed to deter would-be assailants.