Newspaper headlines: Tax cuts talk continues and hope of Israeli hostage deal

Speculation about possible tax cuts in the chancellor's Autumn Statement on Wednesday is on most front pages.

The Daily Mail says Jeremy Hunt has been weighing up whether to reduce income tax or National Insurance, while the Financial Times reports that he is considering cutting income tax by one percentage point.

A government source has told the Times that a cut in National Insurance is more likely because it would be cheaper and less inflationary than an income tax cut. However, the i newspaper says Mr Hunt has lowered expectations of personal tax cuts and hinted that he would rather reduce business taxes to stimulate growth.

In an editorial, the FT calls on the chancellor to resist the political pressure to slash taxes. It says unfunded cuts to income tax or National Insurance would be inflationary and adding to the country's debt pile is unwise. The paper says Mr Hunt needs to deliver a disciplined statement that sets out a plan to lift the UK's long-term growth potential.

Under the headline "Time for early Christmas presents, chancellor", the Mail's editorial urges Mr Hunt to cut both corporation tax and either income tax or NI. The editorial argues it's unlikely that such a move would cause inflation to spike.

The Daily Express highlights warnings that pensioners will never forgive Mr Hunt if he "fiddles" with the triple lock and fails to raise the state pension by 8.5%. Amid fears that the chancellor could be planning a lower payout, the campaign group Silver Voices tells the paper that if the full triple-lock increase is denied "no Tory MP" would be safe in their seat at the general election.

The Times say serious divisions have emerged among ministers over a plan to opt out of parts of the European Convention on Human Rights, to enable the government to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

The paper says Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick wants to disapply the Human Rights Act and to direct courts to ignore the European Convention in asylum cases, but others - including Home Secretary James Cleverly - disagree

A report that Israel and Hamas are close to a deal involving the release of some hostages makes the lead in the Daily Telegraph, which says dozens of women and children are expected to be freed in exchange for a five-day pause in the fighting.

The Guardian says the deal could also involve the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

According to the Sun, a Royal Navy submarine carrying nuclear missiles narrowly avoided a disaster when dials indicating its depth in the Atlantic suddenly stopped working.

The paper says that led commanders to think the vessel was level, whereas in reality it was still diving towards its crush depth, where the submarine implodes from water pressure. That was averted after engineers spotted a second gauge and raised the alarm. The article doesn't say when the incident happened.

And the Mail says it has spoken to royal insiders who are surprised by the suggestion that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would accept an invitation to spend Christmas with the rest of the family at Sandringham.

Following reports that the Sussexes are keen to build bridges, a source told the paper that the sudden "love bombing" from the couple was "bizarre" and that it's unlikely they would be welcomed with open arms.

And finally, the Telegraph says stargazers in the UK will be able to see a tool bag tomorrow evening that was dropped by two American astronauts while they were fixing a solar panel on the International Space Station earlier this month.

The paper says the surprisingly bright bag isn't visible with a naked eye, but amateurs using binoculars or a telescope should be able to see it as it flies over the UK.

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