It’s just three days until Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Spring Statement so it is no surprise that she is the focus on some of Sunday’s front pages. “Reeves takes axe to Civil Service” leads the front page of the Sunday Telegraph, with the paper reporting that “thousands of Whitehall jobs” are expected to be slashed to help the chancellor stay on target with her spending plans. Union bosses are not impressed and tell the paper the move to cut £2bn will “raise the prospect of tens of thousands of redundancies”. Reeves’s moment in the Commons isn’t the only highly anticipated event on the paper’s agenda this week, as it spotlights a serene portrait of Ukraine’s embattled president, highlighting how he is staring down fresh talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday with teams from Kyiv and Moscow conversing separately.
Reeves is also top of mind – and page – on the Sunday Times, where the paper is similarly teeing up her big moment in the Commons on Wednesday. It reports that her anticipated “slashes” to the Civil Service budget will save less than what the Telegraph reports – just £1.5bn. It also reports on the “giant fraud in student loans”, where it says thousands of students are suspected of claiming funds from the UK’s university loans system.
Pressure continues to mount for the chancellor on the front page of The Observer, where the paper’s headline reports that “All families to be worse off by 2030 as poor bear the brunt”, at least according to “grim” new economic analysis. But it’s not all bad news on the front page as it spotlights British sprinter Amber Anning brimming with a smile nearly as wide as the flag she proudly flies in her hands – she won the 400m gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championship in China on Saturday.
An exclusive from the Sunday Express pulls focus away from the Spring Statement, as the paper instead leads on an “asylum crisis wrecking our communities”. Schools and housing markets have been “overwhelmed” by would-be refugees sent across the country, the paper reports. Boxing legend George Foreman’s death is given top shelf treatment, as a fighting-force picture of the 76-year-old from his glory days in the ring straddles the top of the page.
“RIP Big George” says the Sunday People as it uses Foreman’s nickname in its headline about the death of the world’s oldest-ever heavyweight champion. On political matters, the paper also moves away from dissecting Reeves’ Spring Statement and instead hits out on the other side of the political aisle, witjh its headline reporting there is “fury” at Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch claiming £400 a month to cover the council tax payments for her second home in the highest tax band.
The Mail on Sunday uses its Sunday spread to report on police chiefs being accused of two-tier policing. The paper says it can “reveal” how “officers retreated from No. 10 in case rioters grabbed their guns” during the height of Black Lives Matters protests in the summer of 2020. Elsewhere, an “electrifying book on why we have affairs” tops the front page, with a story that details how a man reportedly left his wife 40 minutes after she gave birth to meet up with his mistress.
Heartbreak and woe continue over on the front pages of the Sun on Sunday, where Strictly’s Tasha Ghouri regales her recent split from her ex, while details from the break-up of broadcaster Eamonn Holmes and his wife Ruth Langsford receives a nearly full-page spread.
It’s hardly a snooze over on the front page of the Daily Star, where a “Horror Snorey” reveals that neighbours’ snoring is keeping a nation of Brits awake at night. “Boxing says bye George” reads a top corner of the paper, where tributes to the late heavyweight champion are given a spotlight.
“Now name my son’s killers” splashes the Sunday Mirror with an exclusive interview with the father of Stephen Lawrence, the 18-year-old from south-east London killed in a racist attack by a gang of white men in April 1993. Neville Lawrence tells the paper that he’s “urged” one of his son’s killers – David Norris – to name the rest of the gang that murdered Stephen, after it emerged this week that Norris has finally admitting his role in the attack to Parole Board officers.
“Reeves takes Axe to Civil Service” is the headline in the Sunday Telegraph on the chancellor’s plans to save £2bn a year. It reports that Cabinet Office Ninister Pat McFadden will send out a letter to all government departments saying the cuts must target roles in HR, office management, and communications to “spare” front-line services. Unions tell the paper it raises the prospect of tens of thousands of redundancies.
All UK families will be “worse off by 2030” according to a report in the Observer. The analysis from the Joseph Rowntree foundation says poorer families will “bear the brunt” of the fall in living standards. The paper describes the economic analysis as “grim” and says the data raises serious questions about Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to make working people better off. A Treasury spokesman tells the paper that real wages are rising at the highest level for six months, and that “getting more money in people’s pockets is the number one mission”.
A Sunday Times investigation says it’s found evidence of huge fraud taking place within the student loan system. It says people “with absolutely no academic intent” are enrolling on degree courses and are then accessing loans with no intention of paying back the funds. The paper says officials fear there has been “organised recruitment” – particularly of Romanian students. Writing in the paper, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson calls the potential fraud “a hammer blow to the integrity of higher education in this country” and has ordered an investigation.
The Mail on Sunday leads with an accusation that Scotland Yard pulled armed officers away from Downing Street in 2020 because they feared Black Lives Matter protesters might grab their guns. The paper says police chiefs are facing claims, arising from court papers, that they put the security of Number 10 in jeopardy while Boris Johnson was the prime minister. The Mail adds it is the first time the Metropolitan Police has admitted that armed officers were moved from Downing Street during a riot. The Met wouldn’t discuss specific matters, but tells the paper “it would be completely wrong to suggest the security of Downing Street was compromised”.
The Sunday Mirror front page is a plea from Neville Lawrence to one of his son’s killers, to name the rest of the gang that murdered Stephen in a racist attack in 1993. The paper says Mr Lawrence was speaking from his home in Jamaica after David Norris admitted being involved in the killing in a parole office report.
And the Scottish Mail on Sunday reports that only “a handful” of drug addicts who have used the SNP’s controversial drugs “shooting gallery” have been referred for recovery treatment. Critics have accused the party of breaking its promises to tackle addiction when setting up the £2.3m facility in Glasgow – which allows users to take controlled drugs without fear of prosecution. Scottish government statistics show there have been 27 referrals since it opened in January. A spokesman said they expected the use of addiction recovery services to grow as the facility became more established and added the service had already saved lives.
