Sources in Whitehall and among the intelligence service have told the I they believe there is a “strong possibility” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may give the green light for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel is expected to retaliate against Tehran, following this week’s missile barrage. Three former heads of Western intelligence agencies have told the paper they think the crisis may spur Iran to develop its own nuclear bomb.
“Reeves vows to invest, invest, invest” headlines the Financial Times, as the chancellor prepares to boost borrowing to fun a multi-million pound capital programme in this month’s budget, the paper reports. Rachel Reeves is seeking to calm “potentially jittery” markets and has indicated higher taxes will go some way to filling the £22bn “hole” she has identified in the public finances, it says. The front also carries a photo of a man running for cover in a suburb of Beirut “during an Israeli air raid”. A court ruling against Fifa could disrupt the system of player sales between European football clubs, the paper also reports.
As Labour carries out a “once-in-a-generation” overhaul of workers’ rights, more than seven million people will have access to sick pay, maternity pay and unfair dismissal protection from day one in the job, the Times says. Probation periods will also be shortened to a maximum of six months, but managers will still be able to sack “unsatisfactory workers”, the paper declares. Dominating the front page is a “portrait of determination”: a picture of cancer sufferer Liz Hatton, 17, who was hugged by Catherine, Princess of Wales, this week. Liz has fulfilled an ambition to take photos for the Times , the paper says.
“Showbiz bombshell!” Nick Knowles has left Strictly Come Dancing following a second knee injury, the Mirror reports.
Argentina is plotting a “fresh grab for the Falklands”, according to the Daily Mail, following the UK’s decision to hand sovereignty of Diego Garcia over to Mauritius.
The Express calls Labour’s axing of the pensioners’ winter fuel payment “disgraceful” and says more than one in four of people affected are over 80.
With a nod to Star Trek, the Daily Star says Hurricane Kirk is heading to Britain and may bring “havoc”.
