Several front pages focus on next month’s Budget, with the Daily Telegraph and other papers reporting Chancellor Rachel Reeves is weighing a 2p rise in the basic rate of income tax — a move that would be the first increase to the basic rate since the 1970s. Coverage says officials are exploring schemes, including one proposed by the Resolution Foundation, that would pair an income tax rise with a cut in National Insurance; that approach is reported to risk hitting pensioners and landlords while allowing the government to argue overall working‑age contributions would not rise. The i and The Times say the prime minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer have signalled openness to tax increases, a politically risky step to raise funds for growth.
The Telegraph also notes reports that about 100,000 young Ukrainian men have left the country after President Volodymyr Zelensky eased rules on departures. Several papers carry pictures and reporting from the Caribbean after Hurricane Melissa battered islands including Jamaica and Cuba.
The Times leads on new research suggesting earlier prostate cancer screening could prevent many deaths. A large European trial involving roughly 162,000 men found screening reduced prostate cancer deaths by about 13%, and the paper says screening men from age 50 could save thousands of lives. The Telegraph highlights the same study and argues any programme should be targeted first at higher‑risk groups, such as Black men and those with a family history.
Reeves is also on the front page of the Daily Mail for admitting she rented out her family home without the required licence; the chancellor has apologised and the prime minister has said the matter can be closed, but the Mail describes the episode as a political crisis.
Other front‑page stories include:
– The Guardian reports five women involved in an inquiry into grooming gangs are demanding an apology from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage after he suggested their abuse was of a different kind; the women say his comments were degrading. The Independent carries an interview with Justice Secretary David Lammy, who recalls being spat at for being Black but says he does not think the UK is a racist country and criticises Reform UK for stoking division.
– The Financial Times publishes an investigation alleging that steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal’s joint venture bought nearly $280m of Russian oil moved on ships that have been blacklisted under sanctions. The FT also notes a US Federal Reserve quarter‑point rate cut, which it describes as signalling an end to quantitative tightening.
– Metro and the Daily Express report on Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national convicted of sexual offences who was released in error and later paid £500 amid efforts to remove him; the payment and the handling of his case have prompted political outrage and criticism of the asylum and deportation system. The Sun’s editorial calls the incident a farce and urges a complete overhaul of the asylum system; the Daily Mail and Daily Express link the case to wider border concerns and political attacks from the Conservatives.
– The Daily Mirror says a parliamentary committee is pressing the King for answers about Prince Andrew’s lease of Royal Lodge. The Sun and other tabloids carry spoilers from the TV show The Celebrity Traitors, while the Daily Star highlights a successful fundraising campaign supporting charities set up in memory of boxer Ricky Hatton.
Taken together, the papers show a mix of budgetary debate and high‑profile social and legal stories: tax choices looming for the government, fresh evidence on cancer screening that may prompt policy change, continuing fallout over immigration and deportation errors, political rows about public figures, and international news from Ukraine and hurricane‑hit Caribbean islands.
