Newspaper headlines: 'Clear postmasters' and 'new Andrew humiliation'
- Published
Many of Tuesday's front pages lead with the latest on the Post Office scandal, which saw hundreds of sub-postmasters wrongly convicted of fraud because faulty software made it look like money was missing.
The Guardian says, external the government is "scrambling" to clear the postmasters who have been wrongly convicted. National "revulsion" is building according to the Daily Mail, external, which questions why the former Post Office boss, Paula Vennells, is - as it puts it - "clinging" to her CBE.
A source has told the Times, external that "very damning" undercover recordings of Ms Vennells and other Post Office leaders have been sent to the public inquiry into the scandal. She has previously apologised and says she is co-operating with the inquiry.
The Daily Telegraph, external says the government is considering "forcing" Fujitsu - the company behind the Horizon software - to cover the costs of millions of pounds of compensation. But, according to the i, it's already been awarded another government contract worth £19m, this time to run England's flood alert system.
Writing in the Daily Express, external, Conservative MP Sir David Davis says the scandal has "ruined lives" and that the public is now demanding a solution to the "terrible injustice". The Mail's Richard Littlejohn, external highlights the failure of Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, to take action while he was the Post Office minister. Sir Ed says the Post Office lied to him on an "industrial scale".
Gaby Hinsliff in the Guardian says, external that none of the major political parties has "clean hands", before posing the question of whether that's why they have not made a "crusade" of the issue.
Elsewhere, the Mirror, external says Prince Andrew is facing "new humiliation" after claims that paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein made explicit videos of him resurfaced in court documents. The paper's opinion writers, external say that, while the allegations appear to be false, they reinforce Prince Andrew's position as the Royal Family's Achilles' heel.
The Times claims, external that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak overruled plans drawn-up by the Home Office to close dozens more hotels for migrants. The paper says the decision, taken in the Autumn, has left taxpayers paying up to £1.5m a day for thousands of empty beds. Mr Sunak is understood to have been concerned about the political damage that could be caused if the hotels had to be re-opened for migrants this summer. Downing Street says it doesn't recognise the claims.
The Telegraph, external has seen documents showing that Channel 4 has launched a protest against the appointment of four white directors to its board. They were approved by the Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer, yesterday. In an internal memo seen by the paper, the channel's chair, Sir Ian Cheshire, says that while the appointments improve representation on the board, they don't meet the organisation's overall targets. The board will now have 15 members, 14 of whom will be white. The government said the directors had been selected by the media regulator, Ofcom, after a "fair and open competition".
And most the back pages mark the deaths of JPR Williams and Franz Beckenbauer. The Telegraph says sport is "mourning, externaltwo legends, external". The Metro bids, external "farewell to Der Kaiser", calling Beckenbauer Germany's greatest footballer, while the Guardian describes, external JPR Williams as a "true giant" of rugby.
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.