‘A town in tears’ and Reeves budget warning
BBC
Most of Wednesday morning’s front pages lead on tributes to the victims of Monday’s attack in Southport. “Keep smiling and dancing” is the headline on the Daily Mirror’s front. Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar died after the attack at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport on Monday. A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested.
“Why were they taken from us?” asks the headline on the Daily Express, alongside an image of the three children killed.
The Metro also carries the pictures of the three young girls, describing them as “our little innocents”. It also features a teaser on Team GB’s Nathan Hales winning a trap shooting gold medal at the Olympics.
The Daily Telegraph is the only paper to headline on a protest that took place in the Merseyside town on Tuesday night, not far from where a vigil to remember the three young girls who were killed took place. Twenty-two police officers were injured in the disturbance. “Violence erupts over child killings”, the headline reads.
The Guardian’s front page headline says: “You can’t help but cry” in its story on the attack. It also carries a story an Israeli airstrike in the south of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, which Israel claims targeted a Hezbollah commander. An Israeli military spokesperson said Fuad Shukur was responsible for a rocket attack at the weekend which killed 12 children – something Hezbollah has denied.
The front page of the Times features images of the three victims but also has a story on Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying “tax will rise to balance the books”. Speaking on a podcast on Tuesday, Ms Reeves repeated the Labour manifesto commitment of no VAT, national insurance, or income tax increases, but did not rule out inheritance tax, capital gains tax, or pension reform.
More on Southport from the i, whose headline reads: “No words can describe our devastation”. The paper’s front cover also mentions Team GB, who won two gold medals at the Paris Olympics yesterday – in the 4×200 relay and the men’s shooting trap.
In addition to the Southport story, the Daily Mail’s cover also features a report on a child maintenance battle involving Manchester City and England defender Kyle Walker.
October’s budget is the focus of the Financial Times’ front page, which reports Chancellor Rachel Reeves will raise taxes “as row over £22bn fiscal hole deepens”. Labour had said there would be no tax rises on working people during its election campaign, but the Conservatives had insisted Labour would increase them.
And the Daily Star’s front page mentions that yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far. The story’s focus is on “Dracula” horse flies, which the Star says have been attracted to the UK as a result of the heatwave.
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