A number of the papers report on measures expected to be included in the budget next week. The i says it is feared the Ministry of Justice budget will be “on the chopping block” as Chancellor Rachel Reeves looks to make savings. Former justice secretaries Robert Buckland and Alex Chalk are quoted warning against the move, with Mr Buckland saying that “the idea there’s anything left to cut is fanciful”. This week saw a second tranche of prisoners released early as ministers sought to ease overcrowding.
The Daily Mail says Ms Reeves’ plans to impose national insurance on employers’ pensions contributions in the private sector, while sparing those in the public sector, have sparked “fury”. The paper says the move would raise £15bn for the Budget but has been criticised by some experts.
A UK-wide ban on disposable vapes will come into force from 1 June next year, the Sun reports. The paper says the new laws are being introduced to protect children’s health and the environment but have seen Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused of “nanny state meddling”.
The Guardian says a report by the National Audit Office has found the cost of special needs education in England has hit £10bn a year. It says some local authorities have been forced towards insolvency by the rise in demand but that there had been no signs of improvement in the lives of children with special needs. The papers adds the number of children entitled to support is expected to double to one million within a decade.
Aides to Sir Keir have been drawn into a row with Donald Trump over claims that Labour activists volunteering on the Kamala Harris campaign broke US electoral law, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper says some of the party’s most senior figures attended the Democratic National Convention in August. It quotes a US election lawyer saying discussions between Labour and Democrat officials could have been in breach of rules banning foreigners making any “contribution” to election campaigns. Labour has denied that any official meetings took place with Ms Harris’s team, the paper adds.
The Times says Trump has accused the aides of “anti-American election interference” as part of a “far-left” plot to put Harris in the White House. The paper calls the comments an “extraordinary attack” and says the episode could strain the UK’s relationship with the US if Trump wins in November.
Goldman Sachs and Apple have been fined a total of $89m (£69bn) after a US watchdog found they “illegally side-stepped” their obligations to customers of their shared credit card business who disputed transactions on their cards, the Financial Times reports. The paper quotes Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying Goldman Sachs will be banned from offering a new customer credit card “unless it can demonstrate that it can actually follow the law”. The paper said the companies did not admit or deny the regulator’s findings in court filings.
The death of Olympic shot putter and professional strongman Geoff Capes aged 75 leads the Daily Mirror. The paper carries a picture of Capes, a keen breeder of budgies, flexing his bicep while one of the birds perches on his shoulder. The headline reads: “RIP, big man”.
And the Metro reports on the delivery of a baby whose pregnant mother died after falling from the tenth floor of a tower block in Leeds on Tuesday. The paper carries a picture of the baby, named Posie, on a critical care unit while big sister Demi looks over her. It quotes a social media post from Demi in which she said: “Our beautiful Posie fighting for her mummy. The last bit of our mama to treasure.”
