A variety of stories feature on Saturday’s front pages. The Guardian leads with the resignation of the director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer, following revelations about the suspected theft of thousands of objects from the museum’s collection. In a statement, Mr Fischer said the museum did not respond in the way it should have to concerns raised in 2021 and that “the responsibility for that failure must ultimately rest” with him. The paper is also one of a number to carry a mugshot of former US president Donald Trump following his arrest in Georgia late on Thursday.
The Daily Mirror says Mr Trump, who was charged with plotting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, has insisted he is innocent and the victim of a witch hunt. It also reports that he hopes to use the mugshot, which is already being printed on mugs and t-shirts, to raise cash for his second presidential bid.
Summarising the story, the headline in the Daily Star reads: “Manbaby sulks in jail”.
A Russian intelligence chief, Major General Andrey Averyanov, is thought to have planned the downing of a plane carrying former Wagner group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on Wednesday, the i reports. The plane was flying from Moscow to Saint Petersburg when it crashed, with all ten people on board believed to have been killed. President Biden and others have suggested President Putin ordered Prigozhin’s killing following his aborted mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in June, says the i, although the Kremlin has dismissed the claim as an “absolute lie”.
The Financial Times reports that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plans to use his Autumn Statement, set to be delivered in November, to tackle a sharp rise in the number of people unable to work because of mental health issues. The paper says that, according estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility, a combination of extra welfare spending and lost tax revenues mean health-related economic inactivity is costing the government £16bn more per year since the start of the pandemic. Planned measures to address the issue include tax breaks and subsidies for workplace health services and changes to encourage GPs to refer people to support schemes instead of signing them off work.
A trial has found that weight loss injections are three times more effective than any previous drug at treating heart failure, according to the Times. The paper says one million people in Britain are affected by the condition and that a medication known as semaglutide was found to reverse symptoms including breathlessness and fatigue.
The Daily Telegraph reports that two families who believe their babies may have been killed by Lucy Letby are calling on the police to investigate. On Monday, Letby was given 14 whole-life sentences after being convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others between June 2015 and June 2016. Emily Morris, whose one-month-old, Alvin, died on a neonatal unit in 2013, tells the paper that Letby was “in the room” on the day of Alvin’s death and that “we don’t believe we’ve had justice”.
A man who was found dead in his Bury home is thought to have been killed by a group trying to steal his pet labradoodle, the Daily Express reports. The paper says three men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Donald Patience, 45, and that one remains in custody while the other two have been released pending further investigations.
The Daily Mail says Mr Patience was a father-of-three and quotes a tribute posted on social media by his ex-wife describing him as an “amazing father” who “adored his children”. “We are all truly heartbroken at this news and are all struggling to come to terms with his death”, she wrote. The paper adds that labradoodles can sell for £1,000 or as much as £1,500 for a puppy.
A variety of stories feature on Saturday’s front pages.
The i says Spain is in turmoil after the women’s team said they wouldn’t play while the country’s football federation president, Luis Rubiales, remained in post. Rubiales kissed a member of the team, Jenni Hermoso, on the lips following their victory over England in the World Cup final. The paper says his refusal to resign shows a “sense of entitlement”.
Mr Rubiales’ behaviour is threatening to overshadow the team’s win, according to the Daily Telegraph. Writing in the Sun, Karren Brady says the kiss signified that there is no respect for the women’s team. It’s a similar sentiment in the Guardian, where correspondent Ashifa Kassam describes Mr Rubiales’s actions and refusal to resign as an attack on feminism.
In other news, the Telegraph has spoken to two families who fear that Lucy Letby could have been involved in the deaths of their babies. The mother of a one-month-old boy who died at the Countess of Chester hospital in February 2013 has told the paper that Letby was in the room the day he passed away. Another couple from Lithuania believe Letby may have cared for their daughter before she died in September 2015.
The i claims that a Russian intelligence chief is thought to have been behind the downing of a plane which reportedly killed the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeni Prigozhin. The paper says Major General Andrey Averyanov leads President Putin’s foreign operations unit, which is believed to have carried out the Salisbury poisonings in 2018. Sources in the UK and Ukraine have told the paper his name is circulating.
Image source, Reuters
Luis Rubiales spoke at a general assembly called by the Spanish Football Federation on Friday
Writing in the Daily Mail, Boris Johnson says Mr Prigozhin’s reported death is proof that the UK must never trust President Putin or encourage the Ukrainians to give up land to try to end the war in their country. “Prigozhin thought he had guarantees,” he writes”. “Look what happened to him. There is only one way forward — defeat for Putin, and victory for Ukraine, as fast as possible.”
A man who was found dead in his Bury home is thought to have been killed by a group trying to steal his pet labradoodle, the Daily Express reports. The paper says three men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Donald Patience, 45, and that one remains in custody while the other two have been released pending further investigations. The Daily Mail says Mr Patience was a father-of-three and quotes a tribute posted on social media by his ex-wife describing him as an “amazing father” who “adored his children”.
The Financial Times reports that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is coming up with plans to tackle the sharp rise in people unable to work because of mental health issues. The paper says he will announce measures in his Autumn statement to keep people in jobs and off benefits. The number of people who are inactive due to long term illness has risen by almost a quarter over the past decade, leading to labour shortages.
And several papers feature Donald Trump’s mugshot, taken following his arrest on charges of trying to overturn to 2020 presidential election results in the state of Georgia. The Guardian’s Chris McGreal says the image “defines modern US politics”. The Daily Mirror has the headline “Big Fat Lies” and questions the former president’s claim to officials that he weighs under 16 stone. The Sun describes Mr Trump as “America’s Most Wanted”.
