Reports in several newspapers today suggest that Penny Mordaunt, MP and Leader of the House of Commons, is being tipped by some Conservatives to replace Rishi Sunak as party leader and Prime Minister. The Telegraph quotes a Tory source who calls Mordaunt “the most likely person to stem the losses”. The Daily Mail reports that MPs on the right of the party have held secret talks with moderates about uniting behind her. Meanwhile, another Tory insider told the i newspaper that they are “100%” certain Sunak will face a leadership challenge soon, with the party “utterly despondent” and believing an election is their only hope.
In other political news, Lord Sewell of Sanderstead, the head of the government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, has criticised what he called the Church of England’s “political decision” to establish a fund to compensate for its historic links to slavery. The Times reports that the British Medical Association is calling for Conservative donor Frank Hester to be removed from running NHS contracts over alleged “racist and misogynistic comments”.
The Daily Mirror reports on the case of Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother from Cheltenham who was sentenced to the death penalty for drug smuggling in Indonesia in 2013. According to the paper, she may still have the opportunity to avoid execution if she waits another year. The Daily Express covers Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s promise to pensioners that he will not let them down with regard to major tax changes, specifically the triple lock which increases state pension payments.
Away from politics, multiple papers report on Hollywood actor Tom Cruise’s efforts to avoid disruption to filming of the latest Mission Impossible film by hiring helicopters to transport cast and crew past roadworks on the M25.
Finally, the Daily Star reports on a mystery involving beavers which have been discovered on a nature reserve on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. While some reports suggest the animals were introduced illegally, nobody knows for sure how they got there
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