Newspaper headlines: 'Bodyguards for MPs' and Starmer turns on Tories

  • Published
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Siemens Traincare in Three Bridges, Crawley, West Sussex, to discuss how Labour will help Britain's long term sick get back to work.Image source, PA Media

Sir Keir Starmer tells the Observer that Rishi Sunak is harbouring "extremists" in the Conservative party, and must stop the slide into what he calls "toxic rhetoric".

The Labour leader says removing the whip from Lee Anderson was right, external, but warns the fact that he was ever a party deputy chairman raises questions about the prime minister's judgement.

The Sunday Mirror headline is "Boot out this bigot", external, saying politicians "on both sides" think Mr Anderson should now be expelled by the Tories, while the Sun on Sunday says the Conservatives have been "plunged into fresh turmoil over racism", external.

The Sunday Telegraph says Nigel Farage has offered Lee Anderson a place in the Reform party, explaining that he would be a "massive help to the cause", external.

The Sunday Times reports that three female politicians have been given taxpayer-funded bodyguards, external, because of growing concerns about MPs' safety.

It says the same committee which is responsible for the security of the Royal Family has been brought in to review arrangements. The Telegraph says the number of MPs requiring protection is believed to have risen since the Hamas attacks in October, external.

On its front page, the Mail on Sunday says Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has been accused of hypocrisy, external - after a new book said she benefited from the right-to-buy scheme which she now wants to be reformed.

The paper says she made nearly £50,000 of profit when the council house she bought at a discount in 2007 was sold in 2015.

It says that Ms Rayner has since spoken out against people who get "loads of discount" under the scheme. A Labour spokesman says her purchase and sale was done "by the book".

The Sunday Telegraph says the head of the British Army has suggested that underfunding has left it in danger of becoming a static land-force, external. It says that in a letter which General Sir Patrick Sanders sent to several former generals, he says the ability to mount campaigns overseas is in jeopardy.

It quotes him as saying: "I am not sure that this is either the Army the nation needs, or the one that policymakers want." In response, the MoD said the Armed Forces were always ready to protect and defend the nation.

A drink and drugs-spiking epidemic is sweeping Britain, according to the Sunday Times, external. It says its investigation has found that victims are targeted at parties, work events and festivals - and says police are failing to carry out the tests needed to secure convictions. The paper's editorial says spiking is a "modern scourge" and needs to be taken seriously.

The Mail says the owner of the castle used for the hit film, Saltburn, regrets allowing the cameras in, external, because he's been deluged with fans trespassing in order to take selfies or shoot videos.

It says Drayton House was used for the "most shocking and debauched" moments of the film, and now attracts hundreds of sightseers. Charles Stopford Sackville said the amount of interest in the house was "weird".

Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.