The Sunday Times has spoken to Russian troops captured by Ukraine, during Kyiv’s incursion across the border into the Kursk region. The paper tells of their panic at Ukraine’s surprise invasion. A 22-year-old architecture student reveals that he had never expected to find himself in battle, having been told only that his compulsory military service would be spent training. The paper paints a picture of chaos, desperation and disorder among the Russian ranks. “Don’t shoot we’re conscripts” is the headline.
An interview with the Work and Pensions Secretary provides The Observer‘s lead story. Liz Kendall tells the paper it’s time to end what she calls “a blame culture”, aimed at people out of work . She says a “drastic overhaul” is needed to fix a “broken” back-to-work system. And she describes her task of bringing in major reforms as “one of the biggest challenges the country faces”, with a near record 2.8 million people out of work because of long term sickness.
The Sunday Telegraph highlights comments from the health ombudsman that clapping the NHS during the pandemic may have been dangerous because it put the organisation “beyond criticism”. Rebecca Hilsenrath warns against treating the health service as a “national religion” and calls on its leaders to overhaul the culture and listen to those that it fails. Her office has submitted evidence to an investigation of the NHS, set up by the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting. It is due to be published next month.
The Mail on Sunday says the Labour government’s decision to settle public sector wage disputes – what it calls Sir Keir Starmer’s “capitulation to his union paymasters” – will leave Britain with a £14bn bill. The paper says it has seen what it calls “devastating analysis” that the costs of pay deals for GPs, teachers and other workers will be far more than the £10bn set aside by the chancellor. Critics tell the paper the prime minister is treating taxpayers as “cash machines” to fund the rises.
The Sunday Express claims the Chancellor Rachel Reeves has “buried” a report revealing what it says is the “devastating” impact of axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. The paper says she is believed to have ordered the assessment of how making the payments means-tested would hit vulnerable people, but is refusing to make it public. The headline asks “How many OAPs will freeze this winter?” The chancellor has said the decision was essential because of the state of the public finances left by the previous government.
And the Sun on Sunday reports that King Charles is axing Prince Andrew’s 10-strong private security team from his Royal Lodge in Windsor. The paper says the move puts the “disgraced royal” under new pressure to quit the 30-room mansion he’s lived in for 20 years.
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