'Andy U-turns on early release' and 'Hunt on for eclipse glasses'
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Prime Minister Andy Burnham's plan to stop the early release of PC Andrew Harper's killers is prominent across Wednesday's papers. The Daily Express says the prime minister has done a "U-turn" on his early release scheme by instructing the justice secretary to find a way to exclude Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were jailed for 13 years in 2020 over Harper's killing, from early release.
Unions are warning the prime minister's proposal to keep PC Harper's killers in jail could increase the risk of some inmates being released by mistake, The Guardian reports. The paper adds that the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) have voted in favour of potential strike action.
The prime minister is "increasingly confident" he can find prison spaces for some high-profile offenders, says The Independent.
The Times leads with police chiefs writing to the prime minister over "collective concern" as thousands of offenders are set to be granted early release. All 43 chief constables in England and Wales are urging Burnham to establish an "additional public protection safeguard" in cases involving violent and dangerous offenders.
"Police unite to fight early release" is the Daily Telegraph's headline. Elsewhere, the paper previews the "once in a generation" near-total eclipse on Wednesday night, the first over the UK and mainland Europe in nearly three decades.
The Metro covers the hunt for eclipse glasses, dubbing it Black Wednesday as the demand for specs to watch the solar eclipse has resulted in a "money-making bonanza" for shops.
The Daily Mail shifts its focus to the prime minister's comments that not only the "poorest communities" should host asylum-seekers.
The UK is on course for its hottest summer on record, says the i Paper. It cites the Met Office saying a sixth heatwave is on its way, with the extreme hot weather and drought driving up food prices.
The Financial Times' front page pictures Atif Najib, the cousin of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and former head of political security, standing in a cage during a court hearing in Damascus. Najib and Assad were sentenced to death over war crimes and crimes against humanity during Syria's civil war. Assad was sentenced in absentia, as he has been living in Moscow after fleeing Damascus in 2024 when his regime was overthrown.
The Office star Lucy Davis has revealed she has terminal breast cancer, says the Daily Star. The paper quotes Davis saying she does not know how long she has to live but is "at peace" with the diagnosis. The actress played receptionist Dawn Tinsley in the BBC sitcom from 2001 to 2003.
The Sun follows with the same headline, adding that Davis has asked her friends and family "to make fun of me as much as possible".
The Daily Mirror says Davis is vowing to live "in as fun a way as I possibly can".
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