The Papers: 'Winter quadruple whammy' and 'we won't shop you'

Image caption No 10 has ordered the Ministry of Defence to prepare for a "worst-case scenario" of four separate winter emergencies, the i reports. The paper says the Army, councils and Whitehall have been given a deadline to plan for dealing with Covid-19, a no-deal Brexit, a flu surge and flooding. Image caption Further changes to where people in England should wear face coverings are to be introduced on Friday, the Daily Telegraph reports, including in takeaways. Sitting inside to eat food bought from a counter - such as in fast-food outlets - will also be outlawed, the paper says. Image caption "We won't shop you," declares the Mirror as it reports retail bosses have told staff to turn a blind eye to customers refusing to wear face coverings. New rules requiring face coverings in shops come into force in England on Friday. Image caption The Guardian says thousands of close contacts of those with confirmed coronavirus are still not being reached by NHS Test and Trace. The paper's exclusive finds many of those missed are in the areas with most infections. Image caption The Daily Mail reports the UK gave £71m in foreign aid to China last year, prompting MPs to demand an inquiry. The paper's exclusive says some of the money was used to put Chinese firms in competition with British counterparts. Image caption Kim Kardashian West's plea for the media and the public to respect her husband Kanye's privacy as he appears to experience a mental health episode leads the Metro. The paper says she broke her silence on Kanye's recent erratic behaviour with an appeal for understanding. Image caption Conservative MPs - including cabinet and junior ministers and two members of Parliament's intelligence watchdog committee - have accepted donations linked to Russia, the Times claims. The paper says thousands of pounds have been received by 16 MPs or their constituency parties. Image caption Downing Street proceeded to invest £432m in a space tech firm despite being warned by a civil servant that taxpayers could lose the entire sum, the FT reports. The paper says the UK's joint investment in OneWeb, a satellite broadband operator, was pushed through despite a top Whitehall official's reservations. Image caption Boris Johnson has launched a new campaign to save the union, reports the Daily Express. The paper says the PM has pledged £250m in funding for Scotland as he vowed to "stick up" for every corner of the UK. Image caption Finally, the Daily Star appears pleased with news that tennis players can now touch other players' balls during matches - but only if they wash hands and avoid touching their face.

Several of Thursday's papers happily report the Duke of Edinburgh's rare public appearance to hand over his patronage of The Rifles infantry regiment to the Duchess of Cornwall.

For the Daily Express, Prince Philip looked "five years younger" and seemed to have "regained his zest for life". For the Sun, at the age of 99, the duke "showed the workshy exactly how to do it".

"We won't shop you" is the headline on the front of the Daily Mirror, as it reports the Association of Convenience Stores, which represents workers and owners, has advised its members not to challenge customers who aren't wearing face coverings.

The industry body is concerned that taking a tougher stance would put them at an increased risk of being attacked when coverings become compulsory in shops in England on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that coverings will also be required in takeaways, and that buying food from a counter then sitting down to eat will be banned.

Image copyright PA Media Image caption Face coverings will be compulsory in England's shops from 24 July

The Times claims two MPs on Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee are among 16 Conservatives to have accepted donations linked to Russia.

The paper says thousands of pounds have been received by 16 MPs or their constituency parties.

One of the committee members, Mark Pritchard, has said all donations were received in good faith from appropriate sources, and after appropriate due diligence.

'Gravy train'

The Telegraph claims the increase in home working sparked by the pandemic will derail what it calls "the middle-class gravy train".

In a comment piece, Alistair Heath points out that although cutting out the commute feels like a bonus for office workers in the short term - what they might not realise is that the past few months have shown that their jobs can be done from anywhere in the world.

Image copyright PA Media Image caption Many of the papers report on Sir Keir Starmer's performance at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday

The Daily Mirror says Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer "drew a line under the Jeremy Corbyn era" on Wednesday by declaring the party is now "under new management" at Prime Minister's Questions.

For HuffPost UK, one sentence was enough for Labour MPs to head out on their summer break with "a real spring in their step for the first time in years".

The Daily Telegraph says the "sense of a new broom sweeping away the old order is palpable" after the party apologised and agreed to pay damages to former employees who spoke out about anti-Semitism. But the Sun insists that Sir Keir "won't get off that easily", saying he "simply lacks the bottle" to expel members of the hard left from his party.

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New fertility statistics showing the number of babies being born to women aged under 20 in England and Wales is the lowest since comparable records began in the 1930s are hailed as "good news" by the Times.

The paper says it shows cross-party policies to reduce teenage pregnancies "have proved effective". The Daily Mail's article on the same story is accompanied by a cartoon showing a couple in bed sticking to the 2m social distancing rule.

'Aid madness'

"Utter aid madness" is the Mail's headline as it reports that £71m of UK aid money has been given to China in a year. It claims some of the cash has gone to Chinese firms in competition with British companies. The paper quotes a government spokesman as saying that money is invested to support the UK's interests and create opportunities for UK businesses.

And the Mirror suggests Bank Street in Newquay should be renamed "Bank-less Street" after the news that the final branch in the Cornish town's historic financial district will shut in October. The Express says the closure of Barclays will be a "crushing blow for older customers" but the bank says only 45 customers now use the branch exclusively.