There are a mix of stories on the front pages of Thursday’s newspapers. At the head of the Metro, the Prime Minister says the UK will sue former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich unless he gives war victims in Ukraine the £2.5bn he made from the sale of the club. The Russian billionaire pledged in 2022 to donate the funds to benefit war victims, but there has been a delay in releasing the money, which is currently frozen in a British bank account, due to a standoff over exactly how it should be used.
“Abramovich is hanging on to $2.5 billion,” is the Times’ view. The newspaper says the Russian billionaire believes he has “a strong legal case” to ensure funds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club are donated on his terms. Additionally, police have vowed to crack down on chants of intifada, an Arabic word meaning uprising, by pro-Palestinian supporters, saying they will “act decisively” on the use of the slogan, the Times reports.
The UK’s deal to rejoin the EU student exchange programme, Erasmus, could cost more than £8 billion, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper says current membership will be much more expensive than the government previously announced due to Brussels’ plans to increase funding for the scheme from 2028. Elsewhere, Matt’s cartoon looks at the doctors’ strike in the week before Christmas, showing a nurse telling a patient: “Only four more sleep until you get a visit from a resident doctor.”
The Daily Mail also stands firm on the Erasmus deal, citing critics of the prime minister who accuse him of “wasting billions” on the plan. Sir Keir’s ministers defended the decision, saying it would “provide invaluable benefits” to students wishing to study abroad.
The Financial Times is leading the ongoing bidding war between Paramount and Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The newspaper reports that Warner Bro Discovery’s board of directors is urging shareholders to reject Paramount’s $108 billion offer, calling it “inferior” to the terms agreed with Netflix. In the first place of the image, panda diplomacy is “bearing the brunt” of the political gap between China and Japan. For the first time in more than half a century, a Tokyo Zoo panda due to be returned to China in January will not be replaced by a new furry resident, the paper says.
The UK military has begun “advanced preparations” to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine, i Paper reports. Officials are hopeful that a peace deal is “closer than ever” and the Ministry of Defense has begun its “notice of movement” process to deploy troops if requested, the paper says.
The Daily Express focuses its attention on the doctors’ strike. The paper features Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calling on the Prime Minister to “show some courage” and ban doctors from going on strike. It also accuses the government of “failing patients” as the NHS struggles to cope with strikes, the paper says.
The Guardian also highlights the doctors’ strike with a front-page photograph of resident doctors picketing outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London. It also highlights the newspaper’s story about Belgian politicians and top financial executives who were the subject of an “intimidation campaign” allegedly orchestrated by Russian intelligence.
The Daily Mirror highlights the news that scientists who helped find the first drug to combat Covid have now joined the search for a treatment for the super flu that is plaguing the NHS. The newspaper quotes one of the leaders of the Recovery trial as saying: “We have more treatments for Covid than we do for the flu.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s restaurant is closing, says the Sun. The team behind the venue blames the closure on “exceptionally challenging” trading conditions and rising costs, according to the newspaper.
Finally, the Daily Star announces plans by German darts fans to take over the World Championship next year when the event moves to a larger stadium at Alexandra Palace. “Herr, we shoot” is the headline.
The Daily Telegraph says the UK could face a bill of almost £9bn for rejoining the EU student exchange programme, Erasmus. The government has agreed a one-year deal, but the newspaper says remaining a member would be much more expensive, as the EU plans to significantly increase the cost. A government spokesperson says the £570m deal by 2027 is a “good deal” for taxpayers.
The Daily Mail has a different figure of £6bn, claiming in its front-page headline that this was the cost of what it calls “Sir Keir Starmer’s new bid to please Brussels”. It quotes shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel as accusing Labor of “wasting millions”. In response, EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds says rejoining the Erasmus program is a “huge victory for young people”.
The Guardian says it has been told by European intelligence agencies that the Kremlin has been orchestrating an intimidation campaign against Belgian politicians and financial executives. It says the campaign aims to stop the country from unfreezing billions of pounds of Russian assets and using them to help Ukraine.
According to the i Paper, the British military has been preparing to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine as hopes rise that a deal to end the war with Russia is imminent. The newspaper says equipment is being purchased and plans for troop movement are being finalized.
The Daily Express highlights a call from Kemi Badenoch for Sir Keir to “show some courage” and ban doctors from going on strike. Badenoch claims in the newspaper that his party would legislate to prevent doctors from going on strike. Health Secretary Wes Streeting is quoted as saying he did “everything he could” to prevent the strike.
And the Times reports that the government has banned the export of a 220-year-old Union flag, flown at the Battle of Trafalgar, to prevent it from being purchased by a foreign buyer. The paper says the three-month ban is expected to give a gallery or museum time to raise the £450,000 needed to preserve it for the nation.
