Newspaper headlines: XL bully ban and 'Murdoch team told Sunak not to quit'
- Published
The Daily Mirror declares, external victory in its campaign to ban XL Bully dogs, saying Rishi Sunak has "finally listened". It urges him to now go further, and toughen the Dangerous Dogs Act. The i reports, external there will be no "mass cull" and that the dogs won't be taken off the streets for 18 months, because owners will get an amnesty. In its editorial, the Sun says it is troubled by that delay, external. It calls the dogs "savage, inbred killing machines" and questions whether muzzles will be enough to protect the public. The Daily Express says, external Ian Price, the latest man to be killed by an XL dog, was a "hero" who was trying to protect his elderly mother.
The Daily Telegraph says, external Rishi Sunak drafted a resignation statement when he was fined last year for breaching lockdown rules - but was talked out of quitting as chancellor. The paper is serialising a book by its political editor Ben Riley-Smith. In it, he says executives at Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp were instrumental in convincing Mr Sunak to stay on. The paper promises the book will "unpack how Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak's relationship deteriorated to the point of destruction". A spokeswoman for News UK declined to comment.
The Guardian leads with calls, external for a hard-hitting campaign to tackle unhealthy lifestyles. It says the World Cancer Research Fund wants to see warnings on food and alcohol on a par with the graphic pictures found on cigarette packets. The group says that images which risk upsetting people are necessary to curb a rise in preventable cancers.
According to the Times, external, Rishi Sunak is to stick with plans to ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, despite pressure from Conservative backbenchers. It says that after what it calls a "wobble", the prime minister has accepted that changing course would damage the industry. The paper says ministers are understood to have promised BMW that they would not relax the targets, during talks to secure £600m of investment to build electric Minis in Oxford rather than China.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt tells the Financial Times, external that the government will not adopt US Joe President Biden's strategy - what he calls "the subsidy bowl" - to keep major industries in the UK. He says a £500m commitment to Tata to modernise its steel plant in Port Talbot was agreed only after "very credible commitments" were made by the firm. Mr Hunt insists big subsidies will not be handed out "as a matter of course". The Daily Mail's, external editorial welcomes the deal with Tata, saying a thriving steel industry remains crucial. But it offers only "two cheers", cautioning that such a vast investment must be well spent.
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