Newspaper headlines: Labour's 'vow to nationalise rail' and school stabbing
BBC News - Staff
Many of the papers feature Labour's plan to nationalise the railways if it wins power. The i newspaper says the party promises to "immediately" start the process of brining the rail system back into public ownership. Plans include a "best-price ticket guarantee" and digital season tickets, the i reports. But the paper says passengers may have to wait years before an end to "rip-off ticketing". [BBC]
"End of the line for failing train firms" is how the Metro describes Labour's election promise to axe rail franchises. The plan would see a Great British Railways body take over each existing franchise as its contract ends, the paper reports. [BBC]
The Daily Mirror says Labour's election promise to nationalise rail "in five years" is the biggest overhaul of the train industry in a generation. It carries a quote from shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh, who says: "We'll deliver root-and-branch reforms." [BBC]
The Guardian leads on Labour rail nationalisation promise, saying the planned reforms would be one of the party's "first major acts" if it wins power. The paper says Labour insiders hailed the plan as the moment the party "would begin to champion its more radical proposals" in the run-up to the general election - likely to be held later this year. [BBC]
The Daily Mail leads on the arrest of a teenage girl on suspicion of attempted murder after three people were injured in a school stabbing in Carmarthenshire. The paper also features a photo of military horses running loose through central central after being spooked by noise from a building site. [BBC]
"Horror in the playground" is how the Daily Express describes the incident at the Welsh school. The paper also carries the striking image of horses "on the rampage" through central London. [BBC]
The Daily Telegraph also headlines on Labour but its story is on leader Keir Starmer "refusing to match PM's defence budget". The paper says shadow ministers declined to promise that 2.5% of GDP would be spent on defence by 2030, as Rishi Sunak pledged on Tuesday. Labour's position is that it would raise defence spending to the 2.5% figure "when resources allow", the paper reports, without putting a specific timescale on it. [BBC]
The Times leads on a study suggesting England is the "worst in the world" for underage drinking. A third of 11-year-olds and half of 13-year-olds in England have drunk alcohol, which is the highest rate of childhood drinking out of 44 countries looked at by the World Health Organization, the paper reports. And it says that children from wealthy homes are the most likely to drink, "mirroring" their parents. [BBC]
The Financial Times reports that the EU has instigated a "dawn raid" on the offices of a Chinese security-equipment supplier. Anti-foreign subsidy powers were deployed in the action at offices in Warsaw and Rotterdam, the FT says. Products made by the company in question - Nuctech - have been banned by some Western countries on national security grounds, the paper says. [BBC]
The Sun reports on the death of a former boyfriend of Princess Beatrice, in a "suspected drug overdose". Paolo Liuzzo was found dead in a Miami hotel room, the tabloid says. [BBC]
Bad news for people who like greasy fry ups - they are turning us into ZOMBIES, the Daily Star says, carrying a warning from "another cheery food boffin". More specifically, the tabloid says highly-processed food is creating a nation of insomniacs. But on the plus side such fare tastes "really, really good". The choice is a no-brainer then. [BBC]
"Labour pledges to nationalise rail network within five years" is the main headline in the Guardian, which joins the Daily Mirror, the Metro and the i, in leading with the party's plans for the rail network.
The main story for the Daily Telegraph is an accusation from ministers and defence sources that Labour is "failing to keep Britain safe in a dangerous world" by refusing to match the government's pledge to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by 2030. Labour says it is committed to the target when economic conditions allow.
But the Sun says finances must allow for it and argues Labour wants to save every penny for what it describes as its ideological crusades such as rail nationalisation. The Guardian's editorial says Rishi Sunak's promise to spend an extra £75bn on the department is misleading, because it assumes that defence spending would otherwise be frozen in cash terms - a scenario it says no one is proposing.
The stabbing at a school in Carmarthenshire is the lead story for the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, which has the headline: "Horror in the playground'. The Mail reports that one of the teachers is lucky to be alive.
The Times leads on the global study that suggests a third of 11-year-olds in England and half of those aged 13 have tried alcohol - more than any of the other 43 countries surveyed.
The research finds that in England children from wealthier families are the most likely to have had a drink - and that teenage girls are more likely than boys to get drunk, vape, and smoke. The Scottish edition of the Times says a quarter of boys in Scotland have smoked cannabis. The report says the only demographic to use the drug more are Canadian girls.
And striking pictures of the escaped cavalry horses charging through the streets of London feature on many of the front pages. "Here comes the cavalry - and the chaos" reads the Telegraph's headline above a picture of two of the horses - including a white one covered in blood.
The paper's editorial notes that, weirdly, as the horses were on the run, the Big Ben clock struck at the wrong hour. The article finishes "we hope someone has checked carefully on the ravens at the tower".
Legend has it that if the resident birds leave the Tower of London the kingdom will fall.
