“We have been betrayed” reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror. It looks at the fury campaigners have expressed at the government’s rejection of payouts for women affected by changes to the state pension age. Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, said the cost of paying out up to £10.5bn in Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) claims would hit the taxpayer.
The word “betrayed” also features on the front page of the Daily Express, referring to comments made by Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, who has accused Labour of “betraying our pensioners time after time”. The paper points to the decision made earlier this year to scrap the winter fuel payment subsidy for millions of old age pensioners – a move that was also criticised.
The Times states that Labour MPs are rebelling over the decision not to pay compensation, with one describing it as “one of those historic injustices that are a stain on society”. Backbenchers are reported to be urging ministers to reconsider rejecting the recommendations to pay women born in the 1950s up to £2,950 each.
The Daily Mail says that the rejection of the payout to more than three million women has left Labour being accused of hypocrisy, after several senior party figures backed the Waspi campaign while in opposition.
“Brave and spirited to the end” is the Metro’s main headline – referring to Sara Sharif, the 10-year-old girl whose father and stepmother have been jailed for life for her murder. The paper carries a photograph of Sara smiling and focuses on comments by the sentencing judge, who spoke of her “unquenchable spirit” and love of singing and dancing.
The i newspaper leads on the government’s announcement that it will provide compensation to sub-postmasters who suffered losses because of shortfalls in a Post Office IT system called Capture, which was used before Horizon. The government on Tuesday said it had officially recognised that Capture “could have created shortfalls affecting postmasters”.
“Musk ready to bankroll Farage” states the Telegraph, alongside an image of US billionaire Elon Musk, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and the party’s new treasurer, Nick Candy. Writing for the paper, Farage says the Tesla boss “left us in no doubt he is right behind us” following talks in Florida on Monday, and that there were “ongoing negotiations” about Musk making a financial contribution to Reform UK.
The Financial Times leads on the death of a Russian general accused of using chemical weapons in Ukraine. The Russian authorities say Lt Gen Igor Krillov and his assistant were killed in an explosion caused by a bomb hidden on a scooter. The FT says the incident “bore the signs of the work of Ukraine’s spy agencies inside Russia” and that a Ukrainian intelligence official with “direct knowledge of the attack” told the paper that Ukraine’s SBU security service was responsible.
The death of Krillov has also made the front page of the Guardian, which reports on comments by a senior Russian official, Dmitry Medvedev, who has said Moscow would avenge the killing by targeting the “military-political leadership of Ukraine”. The paper also carries an image of Olympian Keely Hodgkinson, who has won BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The Daily Star leads on the story of “Pawcasso”, a “wonky dog” who is said to look “like a piece of modern art”. The paper reports that Brodie – who is a mix of German Shepherd, Mastiff, Pitbull terrier and Rottweiler – was injured as a puppy after being bitten by his mother, resulting in a crooked face and partial blindness in one eye. Brodie’s unique looks are said to have caught the attention of celebrities including actor Amanda Seyfried.
There is a common theme in the coverage of the government’s decision not to pay compensation to millions of women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the state pension. “We have been betrayed” is the message from campaigners on the front of the Daily Mirror.
Unusually, the Daily Express is in agreement with the Mirror. Its headline accuses Labour of betraying pensioners “time after time”. The Daily Mail points out that the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, and the prime minister both backed the Waspi campaign while in opposition. According to the Times, Kendall met concerned Labour MPs after her Commons statement. Some attendees have described the talks as “heated”.
Under the caption “a meeting of minds”, the Times is one of a number of front pages to feature a picture of the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, its treasurer, Nick Candy, and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. Talks took place between them at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“Musk ready to bankroll Farage,” is the Daily Telegraph’s headline. Writing in the paper, Farage says he was left in “no doubt” that he had the backing of Musk -adding that there were “ongoing negotiations” about a financial contribution.
Reform UK/PA
Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy (left) and the party’s leader Nigel Farage (right) have been holding talks with Elon Musk (centre) in Florida
The Financial Times leads on Ukraine’s assassination of the officer in charge of Russia’s nuclear, chemical and biological defence forces in a bomb attack in Moscow. The paper describes Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov as the “most prominent military figure to be assassinated” since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Guardian says his killing “is likely to send shock waves through Russia’s political and military elites”. Writing in the i, Anne McElvoy says the “bigger prize” for Ukraine “is bringing retribution to a prosperous part of the Russian capital”.
“Victory for the victims of second Post Office scandal, after 30 years of lies,” is the main headline in the i. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is examining seven cases relating to Capture, an IT system rolled out to Post Office branches before Horizon. The software was prone to bugs and glitches, and sub-postmasters were forced to hand over cash, sacked or prosecuted for the losses.
“EU don’t know what you’re doing,” declares the Sun, as it leads on the prospect of a European Super League for football. Previous plans folded in April 2021. Promoters believe this new format, of 96 teams across four divisions, complies with EU law. But one official from Uefa, European football’s governing body, has called the proposals a “Christmas pantomime”.
The Olympic 800m champion, Keely Hodgkinson, is the toast of the front and back pages after winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year. “No one could stop Keely Hodgkinson on the track,” is how the Guardian begins its report “or, as it turned out, in the battle for public opinion.” The Daily Telegraph calls her the “girl with the golden run” while the Times‘ Matt Lawton says “there has been no one more deserving” of recognition.
Reform UK/PA
