Several of Wednesday’s papers address Chinese espionage in the UK, after MI5 issued an alert to MPs. The Times reports on an alert to MPs issued by MI5 which identifies two LinkedIn profiles which it says have been used on behalf of the Chinese state for recruitment. US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are shown holding hands at the White House on the cover.
The Guardian says the LinkedIn profiles in question were designed as a “covert and calculated” attempt to recruit MPs and obtain “privileged, non-public information.” It says the profiles were under the names Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen.
The Independent says a “new row” has broken out between London and Beijing following MI5’s alert to British politicians. It reports that the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom dismissed the allegations as “pure fabrication and malicious slander.”
In addition to the MI5 story, the Financial Times front pages also highlight Trump and the crown prince. It says the president lashed out at a journalist who asked about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi regime who was killed in the country’s embassy in Istanbul in 2018. Trump said his White House guest “knew nothing about” the murder, apparently contradicting the assessment of US intelligence agencies.
The Telegraph says Britain is “unprepared to defend itself” from an invasion. After a year-long investigation, the House of Commons defense committee accused the government of moving at a “glacial” pace in the face of renewed threats from Russia and China. Catherine, Princess of Wales, appears on the newspaper’s front page after her first public speech in more than two years.
The i newspaper claims Chancellor Rachel Reeves told a meeting of Labor MPs that a tax on high-value properties will be included in her budget next week. The chancellor urged MPs to “sell the message” that new tax increases will fall more on the rich, according to the newspaper.
Both the Mirror and the Guardian report claims from former schoolmates of Nigel Farage who say the UK reformist leader held “racist and anti-Semitic” views as a teenager. The party claims that the accusations are “completely baseless” and a “defamation.”
The Metro leads comments made by Google boss Sundar Pichai to BBC News. He told the BBC that people should not “blindly trust” AI models, which he said were prone to errors.
The Mail is leading an investigation into the death of Professor John Wright. The paper claims he took his own life after being dismissed from an elite private school for making what the Mail describes as “some ill-advised comments”. Marlborough College has insisted he was dismissed for “inappropriate conduct”.
The Express says asylum seekers have been filmed “partying and fighting” in their temporary accommodation at a Ministry of Defense site in Essex. He describes the scenes as “delirious crazy.”
Finally, the Daily Star breaks the news that beloved BBC crime drama Line of Duty is making a sensational return.
