Warnings about the UK’s gas supply make the lead for several of Saturday’s front pages. The Daily Telegraph reports that British Gas owner Centrica says gas reserves are “concerningly” only half-full – 26% lower than this time last year. But National Gas, which owns the gas network, said the UK gets its gas from “a diverse range of sources” and that storage “remains healthy”. Pictured beside the story is Australian actress Nicole Kidman, who speaks to the paper about her latest film Babygirl and her view that sex is “not properly explored on screens”.
Illustrated by an image of a waterfall frozen into icicles in the Peak District, the Times also reports on the “chilling news” of the UK’s gas supply. Leading the paper’s Saturday coverage is a report on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ trip to China. Reeves believes the UK has “no choice at all” but to engage with China to boost economic growth, it says. It adds her trip to China comes at a time of market upheaval. The paper also features an Australian actress – with Naomi Watts speaking to the paper about “hot flushes, not sex and Hollywood’s last taboo”.
The use of inflammatory language over grooming gangs risks vilifying entire communities, the health secretary tells the Guardian in its lead story. Wes Streeting says there are people of Pakistani heritage in his community who are “more fearful today than they were before” and warns Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch that “irresponsible and coarse public discourse” can lead to such atrocities as the 2019 massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Former Premier League footballer Dean Windass has been speaking to the Daily Mirror about his “bombshell” dementia diagnosis. The former Hull and Bradford forward tells the paper he wept with frustration during a memory test before being diagnosed. But, the paper adds, in his “characteristic humour”, he says he is “delighted to find out I had a brain”.
In other sporting news, the Daily Express says English cricket is coming under increasing pressure to boycott a planned match against Afghanistan over the Taliban’s treatment of women. It says nearly 200 MPs and peers are demanding the England and Wales Cricket Board call off the game which is due to be held in Pakistan in February.
The lead image of the FT Weekend shows firefighters on the ground in Los Angeles as the paper reports that at least 10 people have died. It adds that the world has breached 1.5C of warming for the first time. The paper also reports on the UK government “drawing up fresh growth initiatives” in an effort to “avoid disastrous tax increases”. It says this was a “punishing week” in the markets that has threatened Labour’s policy agenda.
The Daily Mail also leads on Labour’s spending plans, reporting that the government could delay increasing the defence budget until the 2030s, The paper is currently campaigning to increase spending on the military. It pictures Reeves shaking hands with her Chinese counterpart on Friday, saying the chancellor “flees market turmoil” on her trip to the Asian superpower.
Reeves is to face “crunch weeks” ahead, the i Weekend reports. It says the cost of living crisis is increasing pressure on the chancellor ahead of a mini-budget expected in March, while mortgage costs are expected to climb. The paper also report that No 10 and the Palace are “exploring” a second state visit by Donald Trump after he returns to the White House.
The Sun leads with a report about an unnamed Premier League player being taken away by police during a training session for questioning over the filming of a sex tape without consent. The paper notes that the international star was released and no further action is being considered by police.
The secret to happiness dominates the Daily Star which reports that the secret to happiness is to never give 100% effort.
The weekend Financial Times reports that ministers are already drawing up plans for fresh growth initiatives, rather than more taxes, after what the paper calls a “punishing” week in the markets that threatened to derail government economic policy.
The FT says that, according to officials, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will give a set-piece speech on the issue when she returns from China on Monday that will set out a “convincing growth narrative”. The government is determined to avoid more tax rises, after the £40bn package in the Budget, the paper reports. One official said more hikes would be disastrous.
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Reeves met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng during the visit to Beijing
The Daily Telegraph says it can reveal that Downing Street is preparing billions of pounds worth of cuts to disability benefits, to calm the markets over its economic plans. No 10 and the Treasury are reported to believe that significant reductions are needed in the welfare budget, including Personal Independence Payments. Officials are said to be exploring the possibility of tightening the rules around what proof is needed to receive disability payments.
The Daily Mail accuses Reeves of fleeing the market turmoil with her trip to China and, in its words, “cosying up” to a country it calls one of our biggest foes.
But the chancellor writes in the Times that Britain “has no choice at all” but to engage with Beijing to boost growth. In a comment piece for the paper, Reeves argues that national security and growth are not opposed. She argues that Britain can not ignore the fact that China is the world’s second largest economy worldwide, and the UK’s fourth largest trading partner. Instead, it’s a question of building a stable relationship with Beijing but, in her words, competing where interests differ and challenging robustly when necessary.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting tells the Guardian that the use of inflammatory language about grooming gangs risks vilifying whole communities and could, in his view, lead to atrocities such as the New Zealand mosque attacks in 2019 where 51 people were killed. Streeting says he has no qualms calling out what he calls the sickening crimes of the gangs, but points out that there are people in his community of Pakistani heritage who are now more fearful than they were before.
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The Times illustrated the sub-zero temperatures with this image of Kinder Downfall in the Peak District
According to the Telegraph, concerns that there’s just a week’s worth of gas left in Britain’s reserves will raise scrutiny of the reliability of renewable power sources, especially when it comes to wind farms which are crucial to the government’s net zero policy. The paper argues that dependence on wind farms is likely to lead to more energy shortages when there is low wind and falling temperatures, which forces power usage up. Ministers say building up renewable power sources will protect households from the rollercoaster of fossil fuel market prices. The Times mentions the same story and illustrates the sub-zero temperatures with an extraordinary picture, dominating its front page, of a frozen waterfall in the Peak District.
The Daily Express says pressure is growing on England’s cricketers and authorities to boycott the match against Afghanistan next month. The former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies has joined nearly 200 MPs and peers demanding the game be called off because of the Taliban’s decision to ban women and girls from playing sport.
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