Pictures of children wounded in an attack on a Ukrainian hospital are on most front pages. “Putin bombs cancer kids” is the Daily Mirror’s headline. The Daily Mail describes the attack as an “atrocity that shows why Britain and Nato must spend more on defence”.
There is another call for an increased military budget in the Times. A former head of the Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, tells the paper Britain’s forces are so worn down that they would be able to fight only a small war, for no longer than a month. He says troop numbers have fallen alarmingly because of funding cuts and ammunition stockpiles are dangerously low.
The general also warns that – as he puts it – “the new axis powers” or Russia, China and Iran, pose an even more lethal challenge than the Nazi alliance in 1939.
In a joint article in the Daily Telegraph, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey say the government will increase military spending to 2.5% of the economic output “as soon as possible”. The also say the UK will be arguing that all Nato countries should adopt that target.
The Guardian highlights what it calls the first major policy announcement by Health Secretary Wes Streeting. He is diverting billions of pounds from hospitals in England to GPs, to help patients access help sooner. Less than 10% of the NHS budget in England is currently spent on primary care – a share that has been falling despite record-high demand at GP surgeries.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is accused by both the Mail the Daily Express of laying the groundwork for tax rises, after she said the public finances were in the worst state since the Second World War.
The Mail says the economic circumstance the Conservatives inherited from the last Labour government in 2010 were far worse than where the country is now. In an editorial, the paper says “we are not in the economic wasteland Ms Reeves likes to pretend” – and accuses her of using such imagery to justify “difficult decisions” that lie ahead.
The Telegraph also says an institute founded by former prime minister Sir Tony Blair has predicted that the new government will have to raise an additional £50bn in taxes – unless it finds radical new ways to increase productivity. The report says the money will be needed to stabilise debt, meet the increasing health costs in an ageing society and plug the decreasing tax take from oil and gas, as the country transitions to net-zero. Sir Tony is calling for a greater use of artificial intelligence to boost growth.
According to the Mirror, female jails could be converted to hold men as the UK runs out of male cells. The paper says the option is being considered as Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood prepares to announce emergency measures. The paper quotes the charity Prison Advice and Care Trust, which says many female prisoners pose a very low risk, if released.
Finally, the Sun says England football fans are fuming that the German referee, Felix Zwayer, has been appointed to officiate the Euro 2024 semi-final between England and the Netherlands on Wednesday. They are asking how he could be neutral given that he clashed with Jude Bellingham in 2021, when the England midfielder was fined for comments he made about the referee.
