ReutersThe news that the King is to return to public duties next week – and a photo of him arm-in-arm with the Queen – dominates the front pages.
“The King is back in the saddle” is the headline in the Sun, which says the nation is “rejoicing” at the announcement that he’s “on the mend”. The Daily Mail describes it as “cheering news on Charles’s cancer battle”, while the Daily Mirror’s headline is: “Fit for a King”.
The messaging is clear, according to the Times: “He’s nearly out of the woods”. The Daily Telegraph says his return to public life “signals a remarkable turning point”. But it also points out that “despite the King’s own wholly positive outlook, caution has long been the watchword”.
“Humza on the rack” is the headline in the Scottish Daily Mail. It says Humza Yousaf’s rivals are “turning the screw” as the first minister “limps towards a no confidence vote”. According to the Daily Telegraph, he is “desperately attempting to cling to power”. The paper says sources close to Mr Yousaf have suggested that “nothing will be off the table” when he tries to persuade the Scottish Greens or his former SNP leadership rival, Ash Regan, to keep him in post.
The National, though, reports that he’s been urged by the former Scotland secretary, Alistair Carmichael, not to agree to Ms Regan’s proposal for a second independence referendum.
The Guardian reveals the scale of what it calls the “teacher shortage crisis” in England and Wales. It highlights research which has found that almost 40% of teaching assistants – who are paid as little as £14,000 a year – are routinely covering classes for teachers who are off sick or have quit. The Unison union tells the paper that it’s “neither right, nor fair” that pupils are being educated “on the cheap”. The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
According to the i Weekend, the Home Office is asking civil servants to temporarily move to Rwanda to help process the claims of asylum seekers deported there. The paper says staff will be posted to Kigali for weeks at a time to mentor and offer advice to local officials. They’re said to have been told that they would have to follow “exceptionally high standards of behaviour” because of the “political interest” in the Rwanda scheme.
The Labour conference is compared to Glastonbury in the FT Weekend, which reports that the party’s “business day” sold out in less than 24 hours. The paper says 500 top executives paid £3,000 each to attend, with the high demand reflecting Labour’s strong lead in the polls. Interest in leader Sir Keir Starmer’s plans for government is said to have “grown sharply in business circles as the election approaches”.
And Latin is booming at some state schools, according to the Times. The paper highlights an academy trust which has made it the main language taught at more than 20 of its primary schools, in what’s thought to be the biggest single uptake of Latin for younger children. The paper says the language helps pupils improve spelling, grammar and literacy – and also allows them to decode Harry Potter spells.
