A harrowing image of a large home totally engulfed in flames in Los Angeles is the main image on the Guardian front page. The paper says fast-moving wildfires have torn through several neighbourhoods of Los Angeles, killing at least two people and destroying more than 1,000 buildings. The paper says about 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate. The Guardian’s second story reports Meta’s decision to axe fact checkers has set the tech giant on a collision course with legislators in the UK and EU, according to experts.
“Treasury steps in to halt market mayhem” headlines the Daily Telegraph as it reports the government has been forced to intervene to stabilise financial markets over “growing concern over the effects of Rachel Reeves’ Budget and a surge in borrowing costs”. A striking image on the front page shows a baby being born on a migrant dinghy while making the crossing between the West African coast and Lanzarote. The boy and mother are both reported to be in good health. Piers Morgan has also quit Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, the paper reports.
The i says the chancellor faces extra tax rises or cutting public services as the UK’s “borrowing costs turn toxic”. The paper writes economists are sending warnings to the Treasury over a “toxic combination” of factors hitting the UK. But the Treasury says it has “an iron grip” on finances. Also on the front, Reeves is pictured in front of a China flag as the i writes the chancellor will put the “economy before human rights” as she visits Beijing this week.
The Daily Mail also leads on the chancellor drawing up contingency plans for emergency spending cuts or tax rises due to the government borrowing costs soaring. The paper says economists say a spike in the rates could leave the Treasury facing a £10bn-a-year increase in debt interest payments. The paper reports Treasury sources acknowledge Ms Reeves could be forced to act as soon as March if sceptical financial markets continue to raise the cost of borrowing. At the top of the page, flames engulf a LA neighbourhood. The paper compares its to an “apocalypse” as “stars flee for their lives from blazing homes”.
The Financial Times leads with European leaders warning Donald Trump not to meddle with the continent’s borders, a day after the US president-elect refused to rule out taking Greenland by force. The broadsheet quotes German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisting borders must never be moved by force and France’s foreign minister saying the EU would not let another nation attack its borders. The paper’s second story says Lloyds Banking Group will allow Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland customers to use any branches across the brands, fuelling union concerns it is preparing to shut hundreds of locations and axe jobs.
The Times has an interview with Trump’s incoming director of counter-terrorism, who says the UK must bring back British members of Islamic State held in Syrian prison camps. Sebastian Gorka tells the paper the UK must honour its “commitment”. The Times observes his intervention will concern Downing Street and is the latest signal Trump’s administration will be “taking a more muscular approach towards the US’s allies”.
“Groomed by gangs… butchered on bus at 14” is the Metro’s headline as the mother of the boy stabbed to death in south-east London speaks to the paper. Mary Bokassa told the paper her son Kelyan was taken advantage of by gangs. The 14-year-old was killed travelling on a bus in Woolwich on Tuesday.
The Daily Express quotes the head of a review criticising Labour’s three-year delay in reforming social care. Sir Andrew Dilnot said the wait is “inappropriately” long and will fail millions. Proposals on social care’s long-term funding is unlikely to be delivered before 2028. Pictured is the Princess of Wales – who turns 43 today- and is celebrating a “quiet birthday” this year after a “brutal” year.
The Daily Mirror chooses a similar headline to cover Kelyan’s death. It writes there are fears “he was deliberately targeted in a tit-for-tat war”. Also on the front is Coleen Rooney who says her relationship with husband Wayne is stronger than ever.
“Cheryl stalked by killer” reports the Sun, as it writes the singer has been stalked by a convicted killer. The paper says Daniel Bannister, 49, who was jailed for the manslaughter of a man in 2012 in a separate offence, has admitted breaching a restraining order by trying to contact the star. Sir Keir Starmer is also pictured as the Sun writes Labour has been accused of being “in chaos” over the rape gangs public inquiry row. It comes after Labour MPs voted down an attempt by the Tories to officially call for a national inquiry.
The Daily Star mocks up a man with knife and fork ready to dig into a Christmas tree. The paper reports on Belgians being warned not to turn their Christmas trees into food. A spokesman for the country’s federal agency for food chain security said: “There is no way to ensure that eating Christmas trees is safe – either for people or animals.”
The i is one of several newspapers analysing the growing financial pressures facing the chancellor.
A panel of experts tell the paper there is a “toxic combination” of flatlining growth, soaring debt charges and geopolitical tensions that could wreck her Budget plans.
Ben Zaranko from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) calls it a “generational fiscal challenge”.
The Daily Mail says Rachel Reeves is drawing up options for emergency spending cuts or tax rises, because of a risk she will break her own fiscal rules. It says “Treasury sources” acknowledged Reeves could be forced to act as soon as March if borrowing costs continued to rise.
There are now at least six fires raging in Los Angeles and five people are confirmed dead
The Times leads with a call from a member of the incoming Trump administration for Britain to take back UK members of the “Islamic State group”, being held in Syrian prisons.
Sebastian Gorka, who will be the next US director of counter terrorism, says acceptance will be the price for continuing the special relationship with the US. The paper notes there are dozens of former IS supporters in limbo – include Shamima Begum who left for Syria as a teenager in 2015.
The Financial Times reports on union concerns that Lloyds Banking Group – which also owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland – is preparing to shut hundreds of branches. It says the fears have been fuelled by an announcement that Lloyds will allow customers to use any branches across the brands.
It quotes an internal memo which states the group needs to “evolve how it supports its customers” whilst providing the UK’s biggest combined bank network. One union official tells the paper more than 200 branches and thousands of jobs are at risk.
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The Sun reports Cheryl has been the victim of stalking by a convicted killer
Mary Bokassa says her 14 year-old son Kelyan was “groomed by gangs” before he was stabbed to death on a bus in south-east London. The paper’s editorial calls for better education on the dangers of gang culture and for more investment in youth services.
It says her “terrifying ordeal” continued after the death of her former partner and One Direction star Liam Payne. The man has been returned to prison.
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