The majority of of Wednesday’s newspapers lead with Labour suspending a second candidate over his remarks about Israel. The Guardian reports that Keir Starmer is struggling to “contain the fallout from the leak of a private meeting” of Labour activists in Lancashire last year. The paper quotes party sources who said Labour had suspended Graham Jones, the candidate for Hyndburn, less than 24 hours after the party withdrew support from Azhar Ali, its candidate for Rochdale byelection this month. The paper also pays tribute to Radio DJ Steve Wright who has died aged 69, whose BBC career lasted more than four decades.
Labour has been “plunged into crisis”, says the Times, after Sir Keir Starmer was “forced to suspend a second parliamentary candidate in two days over renewed evidence of antisemitism” in the party. The Times says it has learnt that Starmer is also facing a “revolt” from members of his own team over a leak inquiry carried out by his chief of staff, Sue Gray. The paper also displays an image of Steve Wright, remembering the Radio 2 DJ after his death was announced by his family on Tuesday.
The i newspaper says Keir Starmer is trying to “head off a deepening crisis” in the Labour party after it suspended Graham Jones for comments made to Azhar Ali, the Rochdale candidate, who was suspended on Monday for “anti-Israel comments”. The paper includes Starmer’s assertion he has tackled the problem of antisemitism in the party.
The Daily Telegraph also reports that Keir Starmer faces a “deepening antisemitism crisis” after he was “forced to take action” against a second parliamentary candidate in 24 hours. On Tuesday, Mr Starmer “insisted that his party had changed and vowed to punish any more candidates accused of making similar comments”, the paper reports. The Telegraph says Mr Starmer will come under further pressure to investigate five more MPs and candidates who the paper says have been involved in controversies over Israel.
The Daily Express reports that the “sinister targeting” of Tory MP Tobias Ellwood by a “pro-Palestinian mob” at his family home has been condemned as “chilling” by Alicia Kearns MP, head of the Commons’ Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
The front of the Daily Star pays tribute to DJ Steve Wright and says BBC bosses are “rushing to pay tribute to the legendary radio star they ditched suddenly after four decades”.
The Sun also reports that BBC Radio DJ Steve Wright was hailed as a legend of broadcasting on Tuesday following his death at 69.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s new website using their Sussex titles is a “breach of their agreement with the late Queen, it was claimed”, the Daily Mail reports. The paper says the couple’s “provocative” decision to relaunch their homepage as Sussex.com sparked accusations they are “trying to be ‘more royal'”.
The Metro reports that Prince Harry and wife Meghan have been “accused of kicking his father while he’s down – by relaunching their website complete with royal titles and crests”.
The Financial Times reports that Nato is expected to announce on Wednesday that most members are on track to hit a key defence spending target as the alliance “prepares for more Russian aggression and braces itself for the potential election of Donald Trump”.
And the Daily Mirror reports that a takeaway boss was the mastermind behind the armed robbery that left PC Sharon Beshenivsky dead, a court heard on Tuesday. The paper reports that Piran Ditta Khan, 75, who went to Pakistan after the killing, “sat in a car nearby as a gang carried out the raid on a travel agent, jurors were told”.
