Terror charge for Southport suspect and Reeves’ Budget
The news that more charges have been brought against the teenager accused of murdering three young girls in Southport in July leads many of the papers. The Guardian says Axel Rudakubana, 18, has been charged with possessing a study of an al-Qaeda training manual – an offence under anti-terror laws – and producing the toxic poison ricin.
Police found the al-Qaeda study and ricin during a search of Mr Rudakubana’s home, the Daily Mirror reports. The paper adds that Mr Rudakubana is due to appear in court on Wednesday.
The al-Qaeda study was stored as a PDF and included translations on “advice on urban warfare and terrorism, along with instructions to operatives on how to establish cells and what to say if they are arrested”, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The Metro recalls that the attack in Southport took place in a children’s event during the summer holidays and sparked riots across the country.
The Daily Mail says the fact Mr Rudakubana wasn’t charged until Tuesday has prompted “questions over why the information [about the items found at his home] was withheld for so long”.
Both the remaining contenders in the Tory leadership contest have raised questions about the timing of the announcements, the Times reports. The paper quotes Robert Jenrick asking why “facts may have been withheld from the public” and Kemi Badenoch saying it was “quite clear that there are serious questions to be asked” of the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. A Whitehall source tells the paper the comments show that a “party which used to stand for law and order… is headed for a future built on conspiracy theories and the undermining of public faith in our institutions”.
The i reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to use Wednesday’s Budget to raise the minimum wage from April next year, but notes that many people are also expected to face “painful” tax increases. The paper says Reeves intends to “reject austerity” and set a new financial course for the country by funding investment in hospitals, homes, and schools.
And the Financial Times says that, on the eve of the Budget, the cost of the government’s long-term borrowing hit its highest level since the election. The paper says Reeves plans to fund much of the new investment by relaxing the government’s fiscal rules and increase borrowing by more than £20bn a year, adding that investors have “braced themselves”.
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