Newspaper headlines: 'Houthis on warpath' and 'Queen's final hours'

  • Published
Supporters of the Houthi movement rally to denounce air strikes launched by the U.S. and Britain on Houthi targets, in Sanaa, Yemen January 12, 2024Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

Supporters of the Houthis rallied against British and American air strikes

The Daily Mirror says Britain faces what it calls a "terror backlash" after joining US-led airstrikes on Yemen. It quotes an intelligence expert saying the threat could increase "because of the twisted anti-western narrative" being put forward by some jihadists.

The Daily Express says Rishi Sunak has been urged, external to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. It has been accused of supporting the Houthis' campaign of piracy in the Red Sea, and attempting assassinations on British soil.

The Daily Telegraph says the Defence Secretary, external, Grant Shapps, has warned Iran it must tell the Houthis to "cease and desist" because the world is "running out of patience".

The Financial Times, external leads on the potential £100m tax bill, and risk of insolvency, for the Post Office. The paper says the auditor PwC has warned that the Post Office may not be able to continue as a going concern, after claiming tax relief on compensation it paid to victims of the IT scandal. One tax expert, quoted by the FT, points to a case won by HM Revenue and Customs against Scottish Power last year, in which it was ruled that compensation payments for mis-selling were not tax-deductible. That expert says the tax office may use the case as evidence that the Post Office must foot the bill.

According to the Guardian, external, Rishi Sunak's Rwanda treaty is unlikely to address the concerns raised by the Supreme Court about the country not being a safe place to send asylum seekers. The paper says legal bodies, academics and human rights groups have all raised concerns in a House of Lords inquiry. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, external, the former immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, says the bill will be a betrayal of the public unless Mr Sunak accepts amendments backed by more than 50 rebel MPs.

The Times, external reports that Michael Gove is lobbying the Treasury to impose a "foreign ownership levy" on homes in order to deter international investors from buying up residential property in the UK. The paper says the levelling up secretary is understood to be pushing the chancellor to use the Budget to introduce the charge, which could raise up to £1bn a year. More than 180,000 properties in the UK have foreign domiciled owners - a figure that has more than doubled in the past 12 years. The Times says Mr Gove believes foreign buyers are pushing up prices, and distorting the property market.

The Daily Mail details what it calls "a deeply moving memo", external on the late Queen's final moments, written by a senior member of her staff. In the document, which is now in the Royal Archives, the aide describes how she felt "no pain" and "slipped away". The account by Sir Edward Young is contained in a new biography of the King, being serialised by the Mail. It also reveals how, after the Queen's death, royal staff discovered a locked red box containing two letters which she'd written - one to King Charles, the other to Sir Edward himself. The Sun says royal experts believe, external the existence of the letters shows the late Queen quietly recognised her time on this earth was at an end.

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