A variety of stories lead Monday’s papers. The i says Chancellor Jeremy Hunt still hopes to introduce tax cuts in next month’s Budget without also cutting public spending. The paper says Mr Hunt is under pressure from Tory MPs to reduce the tax burden and notes he has previously said he would prioritise tax cuts over maintaining state spending. It adds, though, that Treasury sources have insisted cuts to services will only be necessary if economic forecasts limit Mr Hunt’s financial “headroom”.
Schools in England are to get greater powers to ban pupils from carrying mobile phones, according to the Times. The paper says that, under guidance to be issued to headteachers on Monday, schools will be given the power to search rucksacks as well as legal protection from being sued by parents for the loss or damage of confiscated devices. It says the move is part of an attempt to “minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms”.
The Daily Telegraph says Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has accused Henry Staunton, the former chairman of the Post Office, of lying in a row over the handling of the Horizon scandal. Mr Staunton, who was sacked in January after an ITV drama brought renewed public attention to the scandal, told the Sunday Times he had been asked by a civil servant to slow compensation pay outs to postmasters until after the next election in order to reduce the government’s financial liability. The paper reports that, in a series of social media posts, Ms Badenoch said the comments were “full of lies”.
Sub-postmasters have reacted to Mr Staunton’s claims with “fury” and urged voters to oust the Conservatives at the next election, according to the Daily Mirror. Michael Rudkin, whose wife was wrongly convicted amid the scandal, tells the paper: “This government needs to be punished at the ballot box. We’re now 24 years on. How long is this going to take?”
The Daily Mail reports that police officers shared graphic details of the injuries suffered by the three people killed in the Nottingham knife attacks in June of last year on Whatsapp. The paper says one officer posted the details on a group of other officers. It says another sent the “distasteful” message to his wife and a friend, a gross misconduct hearing was told. The families of victims Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, and Ian Coates are reported to have been left “sickened”.
Ministers have been urged to end the “postcode lottery” for cancer care, according to the Daily Express. The paper says that, in some areas, just one in four people were treated within the 62-day target window last year.
The Sun reports that a Premier League star was left “shocked” after finding out that one of his buy-to-let houses had been turned into a cannabis farm. The paper says police found hundreds of plants at the property after launching a raid following a tip-off.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has been accused of planning the killing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny “down to the second”, according to the Metro. The Russian prison service said on Friday that Mr Navalny, who was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely considered to be politically motivated, had died after saying he “felt unwell” following a walk. The Metro reports that supporters of Mr Navalny, citing a series of “sinister events”, have claimed President Putin planned the death in “minute detail”.
The Guardian reports on the search by Mr Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, for his body amid fears it is being deliberately kept from her because of what if may reveal about how he died. The paper says Ms Navalnaya, with Mr Navalny’s lawyer, travelled to the penal colony where he had been being held over the weekend, but were repeatedly given conflicting information about the body’s whereabouts. Allies of Mr Navalny are quoted saying that Russian authorities are “driving us around in circles” and “covering their tracks”.
Tech giant Apple is facing a £500m from the EU after allegedly stopping iPhones informing users of cheaper alternatives to its own music streaming services, according to the Financial Times. The paper says an antitrust probe was launched following a complaint by Spotify and calls the fine, expected to be announced early next month, “one of the most significant financial penalties levied by the EU” on a big tech company.
And the Daily Star says that scientists have “cracked Dodo DNA” and plan to bring the extinct bird back to life. The headline reads: “Real Jurassic Park”.
