Newspaper headlines: Braverman’s ‘plan for Rwanda’ and Israel says hostage dead in Gaza

The Daily Mail agrees. On its front page it has photographs of two dinghies in the Channel on Thursday morning, low in the water because of the number of people on board. The paper says the pictures are a stark display of the rationale for stopping the boats. The Times says the government is facing a “storm of criticism” after it admitted there is “no guarantee” the Rwanda flights will depart before the next general election. In the Daily Express, Esther McVey – who has been called Rishi Sunak’s new minister for common sense – defends the prime minister, saying he was “straight out of the blocks” after the Supreme Court’s ruling. But the Daily Mirror asks why ministers won’t give up what it calls a “batty” plan. According to the Financial Times, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is considering cutting inheritance and business taxes in next week’s Autumn Statement. Sources have told the paper that new financial forecasts have given him the chance to do something “eye-catching” amid pressure from some Conservative backbenchers to deliver tax cuts. The Guardian has seen a letter sent by 60 senior women at the Ministry of Defence, describing a “hostile” and “toxic” culture in the department. They say they have been sexually assaulted, harassed and abused by male colleagues. The MoD said it was deeply concerned by the allegations and was taking action. A number of the papers cover Downing Street’s plans to take what it calls a “whole state” approach to try to get people who are claiming benefits back to work. The Daily Express calls it a “war” on the “work-shy”, but the Mirror opinion writers accuse ministers of following a “well-trodden and cynical path”. “We must end desecration of our war dead” is the headline on the frontpage of the Express. In front of a picture of pro-Palestinian protestors climbing on the Royal Artillery Memorial in central London, the paper calls for tougher laws to arrest the “thugs” it says are “dishonouring Britain’s heroes”. The Daily Mail describes the behaviour as being “deliberately provocative”. The Sun leads with the headline “it’s PC gone mad” as it reports that a police force has warned its staff that using the word “policeman” could be breaking the law. The Sun’s column calls Staffordshire Police’s decision a “woke joke”. A theory that the Princes in the Tower were not killed by King Richard III is covered in a number of papers. The Mirror says the solution to the 540 year mystery has been put forward by Philippa Langley, the amateur historian who was responsible for the discovery of King Richard’s body in car park 11 years ago. She claims the boys survived into adulthood and became pretenders to the throne. But The Times quotes one historian who says the case “remains unproven”.