A wider mix of stories appears on Wednesday’s front pages, but the Daily Telegraph continues to cover the fallout from the BBC story it broke last week. It begins with a picture of what he calls a “defiant” Tim Davie after the outgoing CEO defended the station during his first speech to staff following his resignation. The newspaper reports that Davie called the BBC “the best of society” and blamed the corporation’s “enemies” for stoking accusations of bias.
“We must fight for our journalism,” is the Independent’s headline when reporting on Davie’s speech to staff. The BBC director general admitted the broadcaster made “mistakes that have cost us dearly” but warned against “weaponizing” criticism of the organisation, the paper claims. Also front and center is a photograph of Catherine leading tributes to fallen heroes on Armistice Day. The Princess of Wales is seen wearing a wide-brimmed hat adorned with a black bow and two poppies pinned to her lapel.
Catherine’s all-black Armistice Day ensemble also takes the top spot in The Guardian newspaper. In addition, the newspaper focuses its attention on fears of a leadership challenge in No 10. It reports that Downing Street has taken steps to protect Sir Keir Starmer from possible attempts to oust him after the budget later this month, based on the party’s falling figures in opinion polls. Senior political advisers have warned that any challenge to the leadership would be “reckless” and “dangerous”, says The Guardian.
“Starmer vows to defend leadership of ‘feral’ Labor MPs” is the Times opinion. The newspaper quotes allies of the prime minister who say he will not resign and will enter any leadership race pushed by his MPs. Elsewhere, new figures show universal credit claimants have increased by 50%, with a million more people claiming Britain’s main jobless benefit than a year ago.
This figure means that four million people claim benefits without having to look for work, says the Daily Express. The newspaper quotes Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who accuses the prime minister of being “too weak” to deal with the welfare crisis.
In further upheaval for the Labor government, the Daily Mail says “1,000 jobs a day” are being lost under Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The newspaper reports that Reeves is being blamed for triggering a “labour bloodbath” as the overall unemployment rate hit 5% for the first time since the Covid pandemic. The Mail calls it “another day in Starmer’s socialist paradise”.
“Rising unemployment deals a new blow to Reeves,” echoes the Financial Times. Rising unemployment rates mean wage employment has fallen by 180,000 people since the Chancellor announced higher national insurance rates for employers in last year’s Budget, the newspaper reports.
In other news, the i Paper points to “new hope” for women affected by changes to the state pension age. The paper says the government is reconsidering an earlier decision to refuse compensation to those caught up in the scheme, with activists from Women Against Inequality in State Pensions (Waspi) hailing the move as a “big step forward”.
Metro splashes story of a ‘£5bn crypto queen jailed’. A woman, who police say bought billions of pounds worth of cryptocurrency using funds stolen from thousands of Chinese pensioners, has been sentenced to more than 11 years in jail.
A “retooling” of the hit ITV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! provides guidance for the Sun as it prepares for a new season. The newspaper reports that the new rules will see contestants participate in only two tests in a row before being exempt from the public vote. Her story explains that this move will thwart the nearly annual tradition in which viewers “rally” against a particular celebrity and vote for them to perform the gruesome challenges night after night.
“Jungle Commando” leads Daily Star’s coverage of the new series as it reveals that one of the contestants, YouTube sensation Morgan Burtwistle, better known as Angry Ginge, forgot to pack underwear for his trip to Australia. That means you’ll be using “No Pants, No Keys in Australia.”
Finally, the Daily Mirror reports that the mother of murdered teenager Harvey Willgoose says she would like to meet her son’s killer. The newspaper shows Harvey’s mother, Caroline, saying: “At the end of the day, they have both been disappointed.”
