The migrant crisis dominates the papers on Wednesday, with the Times leading with the headline “Channel boat migrants arriving at record speed”. More than 50,000 migrants have crossed the Channel under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, which the paper says is “the fastest the milestone has been reached under any prime minister”.
The Guardian’s headline reads “Treasury targets inheritance tax rises”, reporting that a “clampdown on gifting money and assets” is under consideration for the forthcoming budget. Sources told the paper that officials have been tasked with examining whether a change to inheritance tax could help close the reported £40bn gap between revenue and spending.
“Migrants flood into Britain” says The Telegraph, paired with a photograph of migrants racing into the sea to board small boats off the coast of Gravelines, France. The headline story is also on inheritance tax, with the paper reporting that the amount of money raised from the tax has more than doubled over the past decade.
“It’s not our fault!” declares the Mail’s headline, leading on comments from Baroness Smith of Malvern, a former Labour home secretary, after she said “what is happening is the result of the last government”. The image of migrants sprinting into the channel is front and centre of the paper, with the caption “Dawn dash”.
The Financial Times says migrants arriving by boat will “add to stresses” for local councils, which will have a duty to house the homeless amid a severe shortage of social homes. The paper also reports that weapons factories in the EU are expanding at three times their rate before the Ukraine war, which they write “represents rearmament on a historic scale”.
A record eight million people are now receiving universal credit, according to the Express. The paper reports that the number of benefit claimants who are not obliged to look for work has “shot up by a million under Labour”.
The i Paper is leading with a clampdown on artificial stone imports to the UK, writing that the incoming restrictions have come off the back of their own investigation into rising cases of silicosis among young workers.
“Bungling hitwoman in niqab faces life” reads the front page of the Metro, after US woman Aimee Betro was found guilty of attempting to shoot a man dead in the UK. Betro will be sentenced on 21 August.
The Sun’s headline reads “Taunts of the TikTok migrant”, reporting that a man has “boasted on TikTok” of crossing the Channel by dinghy and has “racked up a million views” detailing his journey from an asylum hotel near Heathrow.
The Star has pictured Match of the Day’s new “hat-trick of hosts” of the front page, with the paper saying the new show will “focus strictly on footie”.
“Dry alert” warns the Mirror, reporting that drought conditions could last until the middle of October.
