'45m Brits in drought' and a 'Not-so-small boats crisis'

7 hours ago

News image — Several papers lead with drought declarations for more parts of the UK, affecting "45m Brits", according to the Daily Mirror, headlining with "High & Dry". It says "most of Britain is now in drought" as the "fifth heatwave of the summer hits and wildfires take hold".

"45m Brits in drought areas: High & Dry," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror. — Several papers lead with drought declarations for more parts of the UK, affecting "45m Brits", according to the Daily Mirror, headlining with "High & Dry". It says "most of Britain is now in drought" as the "fifth heatwave of the summer hits and wildfires take hold".

"45 million people in the UK now living in drought," reads the headline on the front page of the i Paper. — "Three-quarters of England, and all of Wales, now officially in drought," the i Paper writes, with "no sustained rain on the horizon". A sub-headline adds the detail "36°C forecast this week after the driest July since records began in 1836".

"Firefighters raise alarm over surge in 'unprecedented' summer blazes," reads the headline on the front page of the Guardian. — The Guardian continues with warnings from firefighters "over surge in 'unprecedented' summer blazes". As drought-affected England and Wales creates "unpredictable environmental challenges", the paper quotes the Fire Brigades Union urging more recruitment of properly-equipped fire crews as a "national priority".

"It never rains ...but it pours," reads the headline on the front page of the Metro. — Metro zooms out to "extreme weather" events impacting people "at home and abroad", carrying the story of "1 million Chinese forced to flee Typhoon Dolphin as Britain braces for yet another 36C heatwave".

"Not-so-small boats crisis: Record for one vessel," reads the headline on the front page of the Sun. — Some papers lead with a crossing featuring "230 migrants on a 49ft mega-dinghy", as the Sun reports, labelling it a "not-so-small boats crisis". Comparing the volume of passengers to an EasyJet flight, the paper says it is a "record for one vessel" crossing the English Channel to the UK - which it estimates will cost taxpayers £25m.

"'No limit' to migrant mega dinghies," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. — The Daily Telegraph continues with coverage of what its main headline labels "mega dinghies" crossing the Channel. Its sub-headline add "French lifeboat service warns that more asylum seekers will be piled on to boats" following the "record" crossing.

"As giant 49-foot craft carrying 230 migrants – that's more than a Boeing 737 – reaches Britain: Day small boats crisis became a BIG boats crisis," the headline on the front page of the Daily Mail reads. — The Daily Mail splashes on the "giant 49-foot craft", headlining: "Day small boat crisis became a BIG boats crisis". It features criticism from the Conservatives saying the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is "presiding over a complete and utter farce", while the Home Office tells the paper: 'We are making progress, with the number of small-boat crossings down this year and the lowest number recorded for July since 2020."

"Burnham demands plan to keep PC's killers in jail," reads the headline on the front page of the Times. — Meanwhile, the Times says Prime Minister Andy Burnham "demands plan to keep PC's killers in jail", referring to the case of Andrew Harper, following "mounting backlash from the victim's family and the police". The paper writes that the prime minister is "confident" that his Justice Secretary Alex Norris will succeed "despite warnings that it will be impossible to prevent release".

"Kemi: Rule out new taxes to prevent more hardship," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Express. — Calls from Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch for the prime minister to "rule out new taxes to prevent more hardship" tops the Daily Express. It quotes Badenoch warning against "fresh hikes" to fund a "spending spree".

"Wall Street big names join Nvidia to build $500bn (£370bn) AI financing package," reads the headline on the front page of the Financial Times. — The Financial Times carries news of an "AI financing package" between Nvidia and some of Wall Street's "big names", including Goldman Sachs, Brookfield and Apollo Global. The firms plans to enter the partnership "to invest in developing AI data centres," citing six sources familiar with the plans.

"Amazon is primed to buy Liverpool Football Club: You'll never deliver alone!" reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Star. — "Amazon is primed to buy Liverpool Football Club" is the Daily Star's lead story, quipping "you'll never deliver alone!" – a cheeky reference to the club's terrace anthem. "Let's hope it doesn't go to Extra Prime," it writes, as the sub-editors score with a second footie-based joke.

Many of the papers lead on the arrival of a record 230 migrants on a single 49ft dinghy. The Daily Mail notes the number is more than the capacity of a Boeing-737 and says the small boats crisis has become a "big boats crisis". The Sun takes a similar approach with its headline, "not-so-small boats crisis". It says the crossing will cost taxpayers £25m. The Daily Telegraph carries a warning from the French lifeboat service, which says there is "no limit" to the number of migrants people smugglers will put on board the giant dinghies.

Andy Burnham's call for the justice secretary to draw up plans to exclude PC Harper's killers from the prison early release scheme leads the Times. A government source is quoted in the report, saying the prime minister never accepted that Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers should walk free.

The Daily Mirror reports on the drought conditions for most of Britain under the headline, "high and dry". The paper says 45 million people are now in drought areas. The Guardian says firefighters have warned they aren't properly equipped to deal with what they call an "unprecedented" surge in wildfires as a result of the dry conditions. According to the report, the Fire Brigades Union says ensuring crews are prepared to tackle the rising threat should be a "national priority".

The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has told the Daily Express that Andy Burnham needs to rule out further tax rises to fund his new policies. Writing in the paper, she says the prime minister and his new chancellor, John Healey, face a "tricky test" in the Budget. In response, Labour says it will focus on problem solving, not point scoring.

The Financial Times leads on what it calls one of Wall Street's most ambitious lending efforts. It says some of the largest financial groups are working on a five hundred billion dollar package with the artificial intelligence firm, Nvidia, to invest in AI data centres.

"You'll never deliver alone" reads the Daily Star's headline with the paper reporting on the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, nearing a deal to buy a stake in Liverpool football club. Its front page features a picture of a Liverpool player with the billionaire's face edited on.

'45m Brits in drought' and a 'Not-so-small boats crisis'

Daily Express

Daily Mail

Daily Mirror

Daily Star

Daily Telegraph

Financial Times

Guardian

Independent

Metro

Sun

The i

Times