Newspaper headlines: 'DisasterChef' and 'Syrian warplanes hit back'

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The headlines on Monday morning’s papers are full of the backlash against MasterChef host Gregg Wallace, who has been accused by at least 13 female staff or guests of lewd remarks and crude jokes. Wallace has dismissed these allegations as coming from “middle-class women of a certain age” and his lawyers have said it is false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. Ulrika Jonsson, one of Wallace’s former colleagues, has criticised Wallace for his ignorance and arrogance and the Daily Star has offered its own advice, telling Wallace to stop digging when he finds himself in a deep hole.

However, the Daily Mail has focused its coverage on the BBC bosses who are “under mounting pressure to explain why they did not act sooner” given that they were warned “four times” about Wallace’s behaviour. The BBC has responded by saying that it would be wrong to report that they have done nothing when matters have been raised with them.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that Russian and Syrian warplanes have stepped up attacks on rebels who took Aleppo in a “lightning assault that poses the biggest challenge in years to Bashar al-Assad’s regime”. In response to Friday’s assisted dying vote, the Guardian reports that MPs, doctors and charities have drawn up a blueprint to overhaul palliative care. Additionally, the Times warns that NHS bosses have warned that vital services will be cut back and A&E departments risk being turned into war zones to hit hospital operation targets being announced by the government this week.

The i leads with a Brexit-related poll that reveals that 49% of respondents want Sir Keir Starmer to prioritise closer economic ties with Europe, rather than a free trade deal with incoming US President Donald Trump. Starmer reportedly “wants to make Brexit work” and hopes that closer economic ties with Europe will boost sluggish growth

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More

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