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On its front page, the Sun pins the blame for what it calls an “unprecedented Foreign Office breach” on a hacking group which has been accused of targeting critics of the Chinese state. The paper says Storm 1849 is believed to have tried to harvest sensitive political information from politicians and parliamentary staff in the UK. According to the report, this latest incident has “sparked major fears” that any stolen information could be used for fraud and bribery.
“Labour’s running scared of voters” is the headline in the Daily Mail, which leads on the government’s consultation on postponing next year’s local elections in some areas. The move is described as “extraordinary”, with the paper saying it would “rob more than 10 million people of a vote in May” and could boost the prime minister’s “chances of survival”.
According to the Times, the decision has “enraged” Reform UK, which has accused Labour and the Conservatives of “colluding” to stop the party getting into power.
The women and equalities minister, Bridget Phillipson, is accused in the Daily Telegraph of blocking the publication of new guidance which would ban transgender women from female toilets. Sources tell the paper she has insisted on additional bureaucratic processes that have held up approval. The government insists Phillipson wants to make sure the advice is legally watertight.
The Guardian reports that the former Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, is writing a memoir, which it says “will be seen as an attempt to set the narrative before any leadership contest”. She is, the paper says,” often considered a potential successor” to Sir Keir Starmer, with speculation about her ambitions continuing even after she stepped down over a row about her failure to pay stamp duty on a flat.
And a YouGov poll is highlighted in the Daily Mirror which suggests around 1.8 million people will spend Christmas Day alone this year. In its leader column, the paper urges its readers to “check in on someone”. “Knock on a neighbour’s door, phone an old friend,” it says, “spare five minutes for the person you have been meaning to visit.”
