Economics and the cost of living dominate Friday’s front pages.
“How can we trust the Bank of England?” asks the Daily Express after it says the Bank’s predictions for a recession and soaring unemployment were, as it puts it, “wrong, wrong, wrong”. A professor of accounting, Richard Murphy, has written in the Mirror arguing the Bank’s decision to raise interest rates was “cruel and pointless” – saying “it takes at least 18 months to have any impact on inflation”, which he says is expected to be 2% by 2024 as it is. But the Daily Telegraph, in its editorial, says “this is monetary policy returning to normal” – arguing “Britain can no longer rely on money-printing and ultra-low rates to create an illusion of prosperity”.
The i newspaper says the government is resisting calls from Tory MPs to cut taxes to help those struggling financially. The Telegraph highlights a comment by the Work and Pensions secretary, Mel Stride, who says the basic rate of income tax could be cut by 2p if people who left their jobs during the pandemic returned to work. And the Times says supermarkets have promised prices have peaked and “will start falling significantly in the coming months”.
The Daily Mail says ministers have been accused of appeasing militant unions by nationalising a fourth rail operator. It says the drivers’ union Aslef has run the operator into the ground and asks “who is REALLY running the railways?”
Up to a million extra people may have come into the UK last year, according to the Telegraph. It says ministers are “braced” for the official figures, which are due later this month. The paper says Tory MPs want the government – which has promised to bring down net migration – to tighten controls on visas for lower-skilled workers.
The Guardian reports that people with links to organised crime and sex offenders are still joining the police. It says the Inspector of Constabulary, Matt Parr, has told the Home Office he disagrees with the vetting decisions on 13 new recruits – including one with a history of domestic abuse against multiple partners. The National Police Chiefs Council says swift action has since been taken.
The Metro says DNA analysis of fur left on barbed wire proves a panther-like species exists in the UK. The paper says the discovery was made next to where a sheep had been “savaged”. The Daily Star leads on the same story; its headline – “Gotcha!”
