Several newspapers lead with stories on a new trade deal worth £5bn between India and the UK. Quoting both Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, the Telegraph’s report describes the agreement as implementing a ‘two-tier’ tax deal – because it exempts Indian migrants from National Insurance payments. Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said she had declined to sign the deal when business secretary, and added: “When Labour negotiates Britain loses.” The government said the reduction in tariffs on UK exports would be a “£4.8bn boost for British businesses”.
Tory and Reform frustration at the UK-India trade deal also leads the Times. The deal is the “biggest involving trade since Brexit” and will lead to a 90% fall in taxes on UK exports like whiskey and cars, the paper says. The government defended the deal, saying that it was similar to other agreements signed with the US and EU, according to the paper.
Conservative Party criticism of the UK-India trade deal also leads the Daily Mail. Under the agreement, the paper reports, it will become easier and cheaper to hire Indian workers because they will be exempt from paying National Insurance. Tories accused the prime minister of “undercutting British workers”, according to the report.
The i newspaper also leads with a full front page on the backlash to the UK-India trade deal. It cites Conservative and Reform accusations that the deal will implement a “two-tier” tax system. The government says there will be “no major changes to immigration system” under the deal, according to the report.
The Daily Express leads with a report on “Labour turmoil”, after Keir Starmer ruled out a U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments for OAPs. It comes despite Health Secretary Wes Streeting admitting that the cuts were an issue for the party at local elections last week.
Starmer’s refusal to scrap cuts to winter fuel payments is like “rolling out the red carpet to Reform”, according to Labour MPs quotes on the front page of the Daily Mirror.
Newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney telling US President Donald Trump that Canada is “not for sale” at the White House features in the top half of the Financial Times front page. The paper also reports that the US and UK are close to reaching a deal to lower levies for UK exports of steel and cars to the US. Citing senior UK officials, the report says that talks are progressing “at speed” – but that disagreements remained over pharmaceutical exports.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments that Gaza “will be entirely destroyed” fronts The Guardian. It comes following Israel’s approval on Tuesday of a plan for the “conquest of the Gaza Strip”. The report also cites the UK’s Middle East minister Hamish Falconer’s “strong opposition” to Israel’s plan.
Photos from the Met Gala feature in the Metro newspaper. But the paper leads with a personal story about the girlfriend of a motorcycle racer who died in a “horrifying” crash this week. Hannah James also lost a partner in a crash nine years ago.
An exclusive interview with Ryan Reynolds – actor and Wrexham Football Club co-owner – leads the Daily Star. Reynolds, the paper reports, is “so in love with footie that he has become an addict”.
The Sun previews an investigation due to be broadcast on Channel 4. The report says new “bombshell” evidence related to Madeleine McCann has been found at the home of a suspect, Christian Brueckner.
News of the Indian attack on Pakistan came too late for the first editions, and many focus on the free trade agreement between the UK and India. The Daily Telegraph leads with criticism from the Conservatives that the agreement – which exempts Indian workers in the UK from paying National Insurance for three years – amounts to a “two-tier tax deal”. It also quotes the leader of Reform, Nigel Farage, as saying the agreement “betrays working Britain”.
The Daily Mail says the deal will make it cheaper to employ foreign workers, and Delhi has heralded it as an “unprecedented win”.
The Times says the agreement is worth up to £5bn for the British economy, but undercuts UK workers. It reports that ministers have pointed to similar deals Britain already has with the US and Europe and that it will also benefit British workers in India.
The Guardian leads with comments by the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, that Gaza will be “entirely destroyed” and Palestinians will be driven out as a result of an Israeli military victory. The paper says the Israeli threat to take permanent control of the territory has sparked global outrage – and that Mr Smotrich’s comments have “raised fears of ethnic cleansing”.
A year-long investigation into evidence found at a disused factory owned by Christian Brueckner – who was questioned by German police about the whereabouts of Madeleine McCann – is the lead in the Sun. The paper claims officers found memory cards containing child kidnap stories, children’s clothes and toys when they searched the factory in Germany in 2016.
Looking at something beautiful – like a piece of art – may help free us from everyday anxieties, according to a new study reported in the Times. It says researchers from Cambridge University have discovered that engaging with aesthetically pleasing objects appears to induce “psychological distancing” which allows people to step back from their thoughts for a healthier perspective. Or as the paper puts it – “Gazing at art helps you see the bigger picture”.
