The Papers: 'There goes Christmas' and 'PM's £100bn gamble'

4 years ago 379

By BBC News
Staff

Published2 minutes ago

image caption"Christmas to bring little cheer" is the headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. The paper, like many, leads with the new coronavirus lockdown measures set out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday. From 14 September, gatherings in England will be restricted to a maximum of six people. The paper quotes Mr Johnson saying it was "too early to say" if the restrictions would still be in place over Christmas, but added that he was "still hopeful" some aspects of life could return to normal for the festive season.

image captionThe i, like the Telegraph, says the restrictions are likely to be in place through to next year, and describes them as a "major setback" to the PM's previously stated aim for the UK to be "back to normal by Christmas". The paper also notes that plans to allow fans back into sports venues - due to happen from October - are now under review.

image caption"There goes Christmas" is the Daily Mail's reaction to the "draconian" developments, which it says could last until March. In a more dramatic tone than some of the other papers, it says festive plans have been thrown into "chaos", and that a "new army of snoopers" - or as the government refers to them, "Covid-secure marshals" - are being recruited to "target law-breakers".

image captionThe Daily Express is slightly more optimistic on its front page, focusing on Mr Johnson's hopes that Christmas "can still be saved" if plans for mass testing for Covid-19 are brought in beforehand.

image caption"Normal life is unlikely to resume before spring", says the Times, which also fears for family gatherings at Christmas. At his press conference, the prime minister said it broke his heart to impose the new restrictions on individuals and families.

image captionIn his public address, Mr Johnson also outlined a "moonshot" plan to control the virus with mass testing, possibly by next spring. The Metro - quoting a leaked memo seen by the British Medical Journal - says that plan could cost £100bn. That total, the paper says, is "almost as much as NHS England's entire £130bn annual budget".

image captionThe leaked memo also features on the front page of the Guardian, which says the testing plan is a "£100bn gamble to avoid [a] second national lockdown". The lead story carries quotes from the PM saying that mass testing is the "only hope" for avoiding another UK-wide lockdown before a working vaccine is found.

image captionThe Daily Star, meanwhile, has turned its attention to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who it describes as a "clown". The comments, alongside a picture of Mr Hancock in a green wig, red nose and clown outfit, come after he suggested the shortage of coronavirus tests was due to the public's "inappropriate" use of the system. Speaking to the BBC, the health secretary said increasing numbers of people in England were seeking tests when they did not have any Covid-19 symptoms.

image captionAway from coronavirus, the Financial Times focuses on the UK's ongoing trade talks with the EU. On Wednesday, Mr Johnson urged MPs to support a bill that modifies the Brexit deal he signed with the EU in January. Critics say the move will damage the UK's international standing after a minister admitted the plans break international law. The paper's lead story features criticism of the Internal Markets Bill from both Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin and former Tory PM John Major, who said: "If we lose our reputation for honouring the promises we make, we will have lost something beyond price that may never be regained."

The likelihood of families gathering to celebrate Christmas preoccupies most of the front pages.

"No ho-ho" is

how the Sun sums up Boris Johnson's announcement that people in England will no longer be able to meet up in groups larger than six.

The Times and the Daily Telegraph have the same photo of a sombre PM - holding his head in his hand - as he outlined the restrictions at a Downing Street news conference.

"Christmas to bring little cheer" reads the front page of the Telegraph, which says a "grave" Mr Johnson spoke of how it "broke his heart" to potentially separate families for months.

For sketch writer Quentin Letts of the Times, the first "corona conference" in weeks "yanked us back to the most evil days of the pandemic - when these grim events happened every teatime".

The Daily Mail is among several papers unimpressed by the new restrictions - describing them as a "draconian clampdown" and a "huge overreaction".

It says the move highlights the "incoherence of the government's strategy", encouraging people back to work one minute, before "scaring many employees into staying at home" the next.

The Daily Mirror finds more examples of people sent far from their homes in order to get a coronavirus test.

One woman describes how the online booking system tried to send her elderly parents to the Isle of Wight - more than 100 miles and a ferry journey from their home in Surrey.

The paper depicts him as Coco the Clown - complete with red nose - and describes "doing a Hancock" as "acting the fool, shifting the blame" and "saving you own skin".

The Financial Times leads on Brexit - saying Mr Johnson is facing "growing condemnation" for his plans to "unstitch" parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement he signed with the EU.

It quotes an EU diplomat describing the move as the "absolute nadir of four years of negotiations by a country known as the cradle of democracy".

The Independent website says the former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine has become the latest Conservative grandee to denounce the move.

He's reportedly said that any attempt to "tear up" the treaty would face "certain defeat" in the House of Lords.

In its editorial, the Times says reneging on obligations under the EU withdrawal agreement would represent "the most serious misstep yet" of Mr Johnson's premiership. It urges the government to rethink - or risk undermining Britain's reputation at home and abroad.

The Guardian, meanwhile, pays tribute to a 31-year-old who died from cancer just hours after the paper published a moving article he wrote about facing a terminal illness.

Elliot Dallen used his writing to share the lessons he'd learned during his short life - reflecting on the importance of gratitude, connecting with others and the value of a life lived well.

His family tell the paper they've taken comfort in the huge response from the public to his articles, and that they read him many of the responses during his final days.

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