The White House has warned that the collapse of a case against two people accused of spying for China “risks undermining the special relationship” between the UK and US, according to the Sunday Times. A senior Trump official tells the paper that the US exercises “extreme caution in sharing information with foreign government subject to adversarial coercion and influence.”
The Daily Express reports that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is considering a £7bn “tax raid” on pensioners to “plug a black hole in her Budget”. Reeves could hike taxes on pension contributions and on withdrawals by retirees, according to experts cited by the paper.
Whereas the Sunday Telegraph writes that wealthier people will be forced to “contribute more” in the chancellor’s Budget. A Treasury source tells the paper that Reeves is prepared to make “tough decisions”, but insists there will be no “return to austerity”. The front page also features a photo of the relatives of Israeli hostages – due to be released by Hamas on Monday.
The Duke of York told the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that “we are in this together” in 2011, the Mail on Sunday reports. The emails appear to contradict Prince Andrew’s claim in a BBC Newsnight interview in 2019 that he “never had any contact” with Epstein after they were photographed together in New York in 2010.
Several papers lead with the death of disgraced paedophile Ian Watkins, who was fatally attacked while serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences at HMS Wakefield. The Sunday Mirror reports the former Lostprophets frontman was “ambushed” while in jail.
“Monster murdered” is the headline for the Daily Star, which reports that Watkins “had his throat slashed” in an attack by a fellow prisoner.
A photo of Watkins also features on the front page of the Sunday People, but the paper leads with remarks from former prime minister Gordon Brown urging voters to “fight Farage”. In an interview with the paper, Brown said the Reform UK leader’s funding cuts would bring “more suffering” to children and pensioners.
The Observer’s front page is dedicated in full to a photo of a Palestinian family walking through rubble on their return to Gaza City, alongside the headline: “The burden of hope”.
The Sun on Sunday says it has obtained an email from the Duke of York to Jeffrey Epstein in which Prince Andrew tells the disgraced financier “we are in this together”. It says the message was sent in February 2011, the day after a photo emerged showing the prince with Virginia Giuffre – and weeks after he later claimed to have cut ties with Epstein. The Mail on Sunday, which has also seen the email, calls it “astonishing” and a “bombshell”, and says it proves Prince Andrew lied to the BBC’s Newsnight programme. Both papers say he has declined to comment.
Several papers examine the mood in Israel and Gaza with the ceasefire now in force. The Sunday Times says that, “for the first time in two long years, the night air in Tel Aviv carried not the sounds of sirens, but the pulse of anticipation”. It says the square where hostage families gather has turned from a place of anguish to one of cautious celebration. The Observer hears from a student in central Gaza, shocked by the sense she had managed to live through a war. “It was a mix of happiness and disbelief”, she says.
The Sunday Telegraph says the Chancellor will “tax the rich” in the Budget, rather than cutting spending or increasing borrowing. Sources tell the paper that Rachel Reeves will be “fair” when she asks people to contribute more, but says those on “higher incomes” will be targeted. The Sunday Express thinks she is “eyeing up” a raid on pensions, either pushing up taxes on contributions by working people, or on withdrawals by those who have retired. The Sunday Mirror says Reeves is pledging to “leave no stone unturned” in her efforts to get the economy firing again.
The Sunday Times says the White House is the latest to express concern about the collapse of the case against two men accused of spying for China. It says the government has been told it could undermine the special relationship, and could threaten intelligence-sharing between the UK and the US. The Sun on Sunday says the longer the row goes on – about whether the government played a role in the spying case being dropped – the more concerning the situation becomes.
