Metro leads with the news that a chickenpox vaccine is going to be given to children as part of routine GP appointments from next year. The paper notes that no childhood vaccine in the England is currently hitting its 95% uptake target, reporting that the chickenpox vaccine both helps prevent children developing severe symptoms and needing to take time off school.
The chickenpox vaccine will be combined with the ones for measles, mumps and rubella, making it into a new MMRV jab, according to the Times. The paper says it will be offered to more than 500,000 children in two doses, at 12 and 18 months – and is 98% effective.
The new boss of supermarket chain Asda has urged chancellor Rachel Reeves to stop “taxing everything”, according to the Daily Mail’s lead story. The paper says Allan Leighton has offered a “stinging rebuke” of Reeves, blaming her policies on driving up prices and “hitting the pocket of the consumer”.
The Financial Times also reports on concerns about the prospect of tax hikes in the Autumn Budget, relaying concerns in London’s financial services industry that Reeves will “target banks to help shore up the public finances”. The FT says the concerns are she will opt for a surcharge or a new bank levy to fill a “fiscal hole estimated by economists to be at least £20bn”.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has reduced her tax bill by declaring her new flat in Hove as her main residence, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper suggests Rayner has saved £40,000 by making the declaration on her new £800,000 flat, but also makes clear this is “entirely legal”.
The Guardian leads with the Russian envoys to the UK and EU being summoned after overnight air strikes on Ukraine’s capital. The massive wave of Russian attacks overnight killed at least 21 people, including four children, after a residential block was levelled – and also hit offices associated with the British Council and the EU Mission in Kyiv.
French police do not want to get into the Channel to prevent small boats leaving for Britian, according to the Daily Express’s reporting. French union chiefs say officers lack the equipment, training and order of how to intercept the vessels, as well as making the case that “it’s not part of their duties”, the paper says.
The Sun also leads with a migration story, reporting that the Home Office is hiring staff to teach “balloon craft and floristry to migrants facing the boot”. The paper says these teachers, which include painting and hairdressing experts, are wanted at the immigration removal centre in Heathrow Airport “where detainees include serious criminals”.
Prince Harry may meet the King for the first time in nearly two years when he visits London over the next two weeks, according to the Daily Mirror. The paper notes that hopes are growing for a “healing” of the “family rift”- and quotes a source as saying: “There is a determination on both sides to make this happen.”
UK politicians are “using robots to write speeches and letters”, according to the Daily Star’s front page. The paper says those doing this will be “lucky to be back at the next election”, and jokes – alongside a front page featuring a Dalek and the Terminator – “Hasta la Vista, MPs!!!”
