A number of Tuesday’s papers lead with the news that German police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have launched a search of a reservoir in Portugal. The Sun says the reservoir is 31 miles from where Madeleine vanished in 2007 and quotes a source describing the search as a “major development”.
The operation is the “first major search for Madeleine in nine years”, according to the Daily Mirror. The paper says that the prime suspect in the case, convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, described the reservoir as his “little paradise”.
The Metro says that the reservoir is near the town of Silves in the Algarve and that police have sealed off a mile-long stretch of its shoreline. It adds that divers will explore water close to a dam and that digs are also expected in a wooded area nearby.
Divers searched the reservoir once before in 2008 following an “underworld tip-off”, according to the Daily Express. The paper says that a drought in the area means water levels at the reservoir are unusually low and that detectives from Scotland Yard are understood to be on hand with a “watching brief”.
The Star’s front page carries a picture of the remote lake and another of a number of police around a tent at the site of the search.
Away from the search, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under “growing pressure” to act over reports Home Secretary Suella Braverman asked civil servants to arrange a one-on-one speed awareness course for her, according to the i. The paper says Sunak has delayed a key decision to launch an ethics inquiry into the claims but that he is irritated the row has overshadowed the G7 summit.
The Daily Mail says that staff at the equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, have been accused of trying to oust chairwoman Baroness Falkner over her stance on transgender issues. The paper says a dossier of more than 40 complaints against the peer has been compiled but that some within the organisation think she is being targeted because she “backed legal reforms guarding the right of biological women in single-sex space such as hospital wards and toilets”.
The head of Britain’s biggest investment company has said London is falling behind rival financial centres because of “over-regulation” and “misguided political interventions”, according to the Daily Telegraph. Speaking to the paper, Sir Nigel Wilson, chief executive at Legal & General, which manages £1.2tn of savers’ money, says the country largely missed out on the technology boom of the early 2000s and risks being left behind again because it is failing to help fledging businesses raise money or float on the stock market.
The Times says that Natural England, the public body responsible for protecting the country’s landscape, has been accused of blocking 160,000 new homes and helping to push housebuilding to its lowest levels since the 1920s. The paper says the agency has led 74 councils to block developments that couldn’t show they would not pollute local water systems and that the cost of meeting the requirement makes housebuilding “impracticable”.
An investigation has found that thousands of hospital staff are reporting claims of sexual assaults and harassment by patients, according to the Guardian. The paper says that more than 20,000 incidents of sexual violence and misconduct, including rape, assault, and stalking, were recorded by 212 NHS trusts in England in the five years to 2022. Deeba Syed, a senior legal officer at the Rights of Woman helpline, also tells the paper that the organisation hears “worrying reports of women feeling pressured into not raising formal grievances” following incidents.
And the Financial Times leads with a €1.2bn (£1.0bn) fine handed to Meta, the owner of Facebook, by the European Union over alleged violations of rules requiring safeguards for transfers of personal data to the United States. The paper says the company has been given five months to suspend such transfers, though adds that it is expected to appeal against the decision.
A number of Tuesday’s papers lead with the news that German police investigating the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann have launched a search of a reservoir in Portugal.
The Daily Mirror says it isn’t clear whether the search is based on new evidence or has been planned for months. According to the Daily Express, the water level at the reservoir is very low at the moment because of a drought. The Sun says it’s been told by a source that the search is “a major development” and wouldn’t have been ordered “if they were not acting on information”.
The i says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under “growing pressure” to act over reports Home Secretary Suella Braverman asked civil servants to arrange a one-on-one speed awareness course for her. The paper says Mr Sunak has demanded that Ms Braverman provide him with more information before he decides whether to launch an investigation. The Sun says she’s been “left dangling”.
The Times says the prime minister is considering e-mails sent to the Cabinet Office by civil servants at the time of the request raising concerns about the home secretary’s conduct. The paper says the e-mails are “at odds with claims from Braverman’s allies, who say she asked civil servants only for advice”.
An editorial in the Daily Express argues that the home secretary should be left alone to concentrate on what it calls her most important task – tackling the problem of migrants arriving in small boats. The paper says that without her in the post, the task of stopping the boats might fall to someone less able to deal with the crisis.
Image source, Reuters
Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have launched a search of a reservoir near the town of Silves in Portugal
The Daily Mail says that staff at the equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, have been accused of trying to oust chairwoman Baroness Falkner over her stance on transgender issues. The paper says a dossier of more than 40 complaints against the peer has been compiled but that some within the organisation think she is being targeted because she “backed legal reforms guarding the right of biological women in single-sex space such as hospital wards and toilets”.
A report in the Guardian questions why Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has hired a luxurious private jet – reportedly costing more than £10,000 an hour – for his eight-day tour of the Caribbean and Latin America. The Foreign Office said hiring the plane was the most time-effective way to organise the tour.
Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is also facing criticism over a flight across the Atlantic. The Daily Telegraph says she flew to New York in BA’s Club World Business Class suite at a cost of around £4,000 and that Labour has refused to say who funded the trip.
And the Financial Times says Germany has recorded its highest level of foreign investment last year, partly because of a surge in UK companies setting up bases there to retain a presence in the EU after Brexit. The paper reports that British firms invested in 170 projects. One of the biggest was by the owner of Sports Direct, Frasers Group, which is building a new distribution centre.
