Image source, BBC
The Observer leads with “fresh anger” over the government’s asylum policy following the death of at least six people when a small boat crossing the English Channel sank, off the French coast. Steve Smith, boss of refugee charity Care4Calais, is quoted saying the “terrible loss of life demonstrates yet again the need for a system of safe passage to the UK for refugees”. Elsewhere, England’s Alex Greenwood displays a “heart of a lioness” as she consoles Colombia’s Linda Caicedo after England beat them 2-1 in the Women’s World Cup quarter-final.
“For pity’s sake stop the boats,” says the Sunday Express. The paper reports MPs were demanding urgent action against criminal gangs trafficking men, women and children in “overcrowded and unseaworthy deathtraps”. The England women’s football team – the “Goalden Girls” are pictured celebrating. Meanwhile, presenter Angela Rippon, who will star on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing, declares she can still do the splits at the age of 78.
“How many more must die before Tories get a grip?” asks the Sunday Mirror. It carries a quote from a union official, representing Border Force staff, accusing the government of having “blood on their hands”. It pictures an RNLI lifeboat bringing migrants to Dover on Saturday – UK and French coastguards rescued 59 people. The paper also casts an eye forward to England’s semi-final match. “Bring on the Aussies,” they say.
“Six dead in small boat horror,” headlines the Sunday People. The paper also reports the late Sarah Harding of girl group Girls Aloud, who died from breast cancer in 2021, is set to save thousands of lives as her legacy. A medical study to help detect the disease early in young women aged 30-39 through risk screening has been launched in her name, the paper says.
The Mail on Sunday asks if a French patrol boat was to blame for the migrants drowning. The paper says a French warship had been escorting the overloaded small boat across the Channel to UK waters when it sank. The presence of French vessels sparked a row with Tory MPs, accusing French authorities of encouraging migrants to attempt the crossing.
The Sunday Telegraph reveals ministers want to hire more barges for asylum seekers and will host up to 5,000 more in office and student accommodation blocks. The Telegraph says it understands up to 10 unused student accommodation and former office block sites are being looked at.
The Sunday Times reports students whose A-Level results were graded by their teachers during the pandemic are dropping out of university in record numbers. The Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has also warned that grades will be lower than last year, as during the pandemic results were higher because of the way they were assessed.
An unworldly alien plays chess on the front of the Daily Star, as the paper picks up a story on scientists thinking about messages to be sent into space to establish communication with other life forms, including starting a dialogue with a game of chess.
