03 March 2023

What the papers say – March 3

03 March 2023

The Friday papers are dominated by revelations from the public inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing.

The Daily Mirror, The Independent and i report MI5 boss Ken McCallum issued an apology after the review into the May 2017 atrocity found it might have been prevented if MI5 had acted more swiftly on a piece of intelligence received in the months before.

The Guardian leads with “fury” from the families of the victims, while The Sun carries the headline: “22 Who Should Be Alive.”

Elsewhere, ministers and senior officials discussed the need to “get heavy” with the police over the enforcement of Covid lockdown regulations, according to the latest tranche of Matt Hancock’s leaked messages published by The Daily Telegraph.

Metro carries Matt Hancock calling the leaks a “massive betrayal and breach of trust”.

The Times reports the Prime Minister has been urged to block Sue Gray, who led the so-called ‘partygate’ inquiry, from taking up a new job as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.

The Daily Mail says Tory MPs have claimed the move is proof that the inquiry was a Labour “stitch-up”.

Boris Johnson has said Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal does not “take back control” from the EU, according to the Daily Express.

The Financial Times leads with the world’s largest building materials group opting to list in New York over London.

And the Daily Star says a health minister admitted the Government discussed killing all of Britain’s cats in the early days of the pandemic.

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