Newspaper headlines: Farage gets apology and King Charles gets 'pay rise'

By BBC News
Staff

The Daily Telegraph says the chief executive of NatWest, Dame Alison Rose, has "finally" apologised to Mr Farage.

But it insists many questions raised by the issue remain.

It says Dame Alison's apology failed to reveal who had briefed Simon Jack, the BBC's business editor, that Mr Farage's account had been closed "for commercial reasons".

The paper quotes Mr Farage, from his GB News show, saying he was going to find out if Dame Alison herself was behind the leak.

In its editorial, the paper suggests the public are still owed a "full explanation" of what happened, because NatWest is still partly state-owned.

The Daily Mail says Dame Alison has made an apology "of sorts" to Nigel Farage.

But, like the Telegraph, it says Mr Farage had accused her of being forced into it by the Treasury - and quotes him as saying her letter to him smacked of 'not me, guv'.

The paper says Mr Farage has now promised to campaign on behalf of the thousands he claims have been "debanked".

The Times also picks up on Mr Farage's claim that Dame Alison was forced into apologising.

It quotes him as saying he'd been told privately that she had.

It reports too that Coutts changed the terms under which accounts could be closed, in 2021, to include discrimination - after an equality report which Dame Alison had "championed".

The Daily Mirror reports that new court documents suggest Prince Andrew visited the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein while he was still under house arrest for a sex offence.

It would contradict Prince Andrew's claim - in his BBC Newsnight interview - that he met Epstein again only after his sentence ended in 2010, to break off their friendship.

The paper says it has approached the prince for comment. He's always denied any wrongdoing.

"Fury over plan to axe pension tax break" is the headline in the Daily Express.

It says tens of thousands of people a year face losing out under proposals to start taxing inherited pension pots - which can currently be passed on without triggering any inheritance tax if they're untouched and the person died before they're 75.

The paper calls the plans "outrageous".

On the other hand, according to the Times, there could be tax breaks on offer for companies offering health check-ups and treatment to staff.

It says the Treasury is looking at various plans to reverse a post-pandemic "surge" in long-term sickness.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the results of a new survey suggest that women are more likely to suffer high cholesterol than men.

The poll of 250,000 people - carried out by the NHS, life science companies and health charities - found that almost two thirds of women had dangerous levels.

And the Guardian has details of government plans to boost public funding of the monarchy by 45% in two years' time.

It says a review of funding published by the Treasury yesterday revealed that the royal family's budget is due to go from £86m a year, to £125m.

The paper said the Treasury hadn't disputed that the sovereign grant was expected to rise significantly in the coming years.