One of several papers to lead on Sue Gray’s exit, the Financial Times reports Sir Keir Starmer has conducted a “shake-up” of his “misfiring” team, after his former chief of staff quit her post after only three months in Downing Street. Her departure, the paper says, came as the prime minister attempted to “restore order” following weeks of internal criticism and a “power struggle”. Also on the front is a photo of a memorial displayed in Jerusalem depicting the victims of Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October, the first anniversary of which is remembered on Monday.
Election strategist Morgan McSweeney has replaced Sue Gray, as the prime minister moves to “quell accusations” his government is “stalling”, writes the I. Ms Gray left her post following a “toxic” battle with McSweeney, it says, but according to a senior cabinet minister quoted by the paper, there was “no misogyny” involved.
According to the Telegraph, Sue Gray was “ousted as PM wields the knife”. Sir Keir “shifted” his former aide to the role of envoy to the regions and nations, where she will not report directly to him and will also take a pay cut – a move that is “pretty extraordinary”, a former Conservative adviser told the paper. The front carries an image of Emily Damari, 28, who was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October last year and is still being detained. Also vying for space is a report claiming there are more illegal migrants in the UK than any other country in Europe.
The Times also takes the view Sue Gray was “ousted”, with an ally of the former chief of staff saying she was the victim of a “coup” orchestrated by her replacement Morgan McSweeney’s supporters. Elsewhere on the frontpage Labour is expected to “abandon plans” to mount a tax raid to spare public sector workers, the paper writes. And in pictures, a woman sobs at a memorial on the site of the Supernova Festival, southern Israel, where Hamas militants killed hundreds of civilians and took hostages on 7 October last year.
The Daily Express’s angle is Ms Gray has fled a “sinking ship”, according to senior unnamed Conservative speaking to the paper. The prime minister has been “plunged into a crisis”, the paper says, attributing Ms Gray’s departure to a “power battle”. An interview with the mother of the last British hostage held in Gaza and a photo of Meghan Markle, following her solo appearance at a charity gala in Hollywood, are included on the front page.
“A bad Gray at the office, Keir?” asks the Metro as it also leads on Sue Gray’s departure, saying her “sudden exit” has generated “accusations of chaos and crisis” within Sir Keir’s administration.
The Sue Gray “farce” shows the prime minister’s “fatal lack of judgement”, Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has said in the Daily Mail.
One year on from the 7 October attack, Israel “remembers its victims” and intensifies air strikes, the Guardian reports. According to the paper, the war Israel “launched in response” to Hamas has escalated on two fronts, with a retaliatory strike against Iran a “growing possibility”. Israel is on “high alert” today to guard against potential attacked timed to coincide with the anniversary. Illustrating the lead is a photo of smoke billowing over a Beirut suburb, as flames from an Israeli air strike illuminate the scene.
“It’s a been a year of hell, time to find peace,” splashes the Daily Mirror, leading on the 7 October attack’s anniversary. It features Mandy Damari’s plea for the safe return of her daughter Emily, 28, who is the last hostage British still being held by Hamas. “We cannot let another day pass,” the paper says.
And finally, wild swimmers beware, the Daily Star warns previously extinct giant beavers could be “on the rampage in a river near you”, as “crazy boffins” pledge to bring the animal back to life.
