Differing views over imposing pandemic restrictions and the consequences of the US president spreading “fake news” lead Wednesday’s papers.

The Times reports the UK is on “lockdown alert”, but The Daily Telegraph says the Cabinet is split over an overhaul of restrictions after the leaders of the cities most affected by coronavirus said the current measures were “not working”.

More than 4,000 scientists led by epidemiologists from Oxford have called for a “rethink” of lockdown, which they say should only apply to the elderly and vulnerable, according to the Daily Mail.

The Guardian reports three of the country’s largest universities have shifted to online classes due to coronavirus outbreaks.

The i says new figures show the proportion of people dying in hospital from Covid-19 is far lower than in spring.

Boris Johnson has established his vision to fix the country at the Conservative Party’s virtual conference, with the Daily Express quoting him as saying Britain “will come out of this darkness fighting fit”.

The Daily Mirror, however, refers to the Prime Minister as a “wind bag”, with Labour’s Angela Rayner saying of his speech: “We got the usual bluster and no plans for the months ahead.”

And the “rose-tinted” speech has prompted a “business backlash” after the PM “largely ignored the challenges of preventing job losses and scaling up” virus testing, according to The Independent.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times says concerns have been raised over the supply of vital testing materials for a range of conditions, including Covid-19, following a supply chain problem with pharmaceutical giant Roche.

Donald Trump has had a Facebook post removed and been censored by Twitter after he played down the severity of the coronavirus, in what Metro calls “Fake Flu News”.

The Sun calls on its “big-hearted readers” to support the annual Poppy Appeal for those who rely on the British Legion.

And the Daily Star says Mesut Ozil has offered to pay the full wages of the man inside Arsenal’s Gunnersaurus mascot costume, after Jerry Quy was made redundant as part of the club’s cost-cutting.