A mixture of stories leads the front pages of Sunday’s newspapers, with a number of outlets teasing various defence-related threads ahead of Monday’s strategic defence review – which will set out the future of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The Sunday Telegraph reports that Defence Secretary John Healey will announce that the UK is to “be made ‘war-ready’ with £1.5bn for bomb factories”, and it will also commit to buying 7,000 long-range weapons after warnings that the UK “no longer has a fighting force”. Elsewhere, the paper spotlights the Tories accusing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of having “lost control” of the borders after an estimated 1,000 migrants crossed the Channel in a single day on small boats.
“British fighter jets to carry nuclear bombs” reads the front page of the Sunday Times, which reports that these airborne weapons will be the “biggest defence expansion since the Cold War”. Elsewhere the paper reports on the looming threat of junior doctors organising co-ordinated strikes this winter which they say could bring the NHS to a “standstill”. It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting refused to negotiate with the resident doctors, the paper says.
Elon Musk is “Ex” after his last day in office at the White House on Friday, the Observer reports, channelling the name of his social media platform X. The paper reports that a glum-looking Musk is leaving Washington with a “black eye” – which can be seen hidden just below his Doge cap.
“David Cameron behaved like a big man-baby” Sarah Vine, the former wife of Conservative MP Michael Gove, teases on the front page of the Mail. The excerpt, from her forthcoming political memoir, has reportedly left Westminster “quaking in its boots”. And an exclusive from the Mail splashes below, which details how a British businessman has been accused of spying for China. The 63-year-old was arrested at the request of the FBI in Serbia and is now awaiting extradition to the US, the paper reports.
“Dye do!” splashes the front page of the Sun on Sunday, showing a dashing Dani Dyer marrying English footballer Jarrod Bowen yesterday. TV star Dyer just recently landed a starring role in the new Strictly Come Dancing series, the paper reports.
“She’s Dan it” puns the Daily Mirror, which similarly uses a good portion of its front to congratulate newlyweds Dani Dyer and Jarrod Bowen in their marital bliss. Elsewhere, the paper reports that Boris Johnson’s government’s failure to “check the viability of PPE for up to two years” has cost the taxpayer £762m. The findings were uncovered as part of a year-long inquiry by Covid counter-fraud commissioner Tom Hayhoe.
It is not all sunshine and daises with the warmer weather over on the front page of the Daily Star, which dedicates nearly the entire front to “Pains in the grass” neighbours who find themselves getting into “bust-ups” over mowing on Sunday mornings. The “crack of dawn” chore has driven a wedge between some, to the point of a “turf war”, the paper reports.
The sun is a cause for celebration over on the front page of the Independent, which boasts with a playful picture about the “bliss” of the sunniest spring on record coming to a close. An exclusive about hip and knee surgery being rationed within the NHS in an effort to save costs splashes below the fold. One-third of NHS areas in England are blocking patient access based on their body mass index, the paper reports.
“Look Who’s back…” teases the front page of the Sunday Express with a picture of actress Billie Piper, who first appeared on the Doctor Who series as Rose Tyler, a companion to the Doctor, and was as a regular between 2005 and 2006. With the twist ending to this year’s series, the paper asks: could Piper be returning to the show, but this time as the Doctor?
It’s “Double trouble” over on the front page of the Sunday People, where Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter and Coronation Street’s Tina O’Brien turned up at the Soap awards on Saturday night donning nearly identical sparkly dresses. “And the twinner is…” unclear, but the paper reports the “awkward blunder” did no,t devolve into further embarrassment for either party, as the pair arrived 10 minutes apart.
The Sunday Times says the government has held “highly sensitive” talks about buying combat aircraft capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The paper calls it “the biggest development in the UK’s deterrent since the Cold War”. Sir Keir Starmer has told the Sun on Sunday that the moment has arrived to “transform” how Britain is defended. Writing in the paper, the prime minister says Monday’s defence review will restore war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of the armed forces.
The Sunday Telegraph highlights a “record-breaking” number of migrants who arrived in the UK in small boats on Saturday. It says the number of crossings so far this year is up more than 30% on the same period in 2024. According to the Mail on Sunday, the government’s pledge to tackle illegal immigration was left “in tatters” as French police officers “stood idly by” while people scrambled to board the dinghies. The Home Office says it is strengthening international partnerships to tackle criminal gangs.
The Sunday Mirror says Boris Johnson’s former government has been accused of wasting £762m of taxpayer money by the Covid counter-fraud commissioner. Tom Hayhoe is reported to have found that faulty Personal Protective Equipment bought during the pandemic was not checked before the warranties expired – meaning the costs must be written off. Former ministers have insisted that PPE helped save lives.
The shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, has told the Sunday Express that prison officers must be armed to prevent their kidnap or murder by Islamist terrorists. He also calls for “secure armouries” of “lethal weapons” to be installed at high-security prisons – to help to tackle violent inmates.
A full-page image of Elon Musk is featured on the front of the Observer after the world’s richest man left his role as President Donald Trump’s efficiency tsar. Noting his black eye – said to be the result of a punch from his five-year-old son – the paper says Musk departed Washington with his reputation bruised after leading a “maniacal assault on American foreign aid and public service that cost tens of thousands of livelihoods in the US”.
