'Summer of shortages' and 'War windfall'
- Published
A "summer of shortages" could hit the UK's supermarket shelves, according to the Times, as the Iran war affects production of chicken, pork and other goods. Citing secret government analysis, the paper says "fears grow that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will lead to a shortage of carbon dioxide, which is critical to the food industry". BBC Newsnight has been told by a senior government source the planning is for a worst case scenario and not a prediction of what will happen.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves' latest remarks on the Iran war are splashed across the Independent's front page. "Starmer vows he won't get 'dragged into' Trump's war", the paper writes, while the chancellor "risks further anger and retribution by criticising conflict that has 'not made the world a safer place'".
"Big oil makes extra $30m [£22.12m] every hour during conflict," is the Guardian's headline, reporting on its analysis that has found firms such as "Saudi Aramaco, Gazprom and ExxonMobil are among the biggest beneficiaries of the bonanza". The findings have triggered "calls to tax profits" of the gas companies, according to the paper.
The Metro's top story features Sir Keir's response to criticism from ex-Nato chief Lord Robertson that the UK risks "corrosive complacency" by not increasing defence spending. The paper quotes Sir Keir as saying "I HAVE boosted military spending". It also features Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch telling the PM: "You'd rather splurge on benefits."
The Financial Times leads with an investigation that finds Iran has used "Chinese satellites to target US bases" across the Middle East after "leaked Iranian military documents show the satellite – TEE-01B – was acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force".
"China flexes its muscles in Gulf" is the i Paper's headline, as "anger grows in Beijing at impact of US blockade". Iran sells 90% of its oil to China "and conflict threatens success of superpowers summit next month".
"PM hauls tech giants to No10 to demand safeguards for kids," reads the Daily Mirror's top story, which comes as "grieving parents call for action as MPs vote down under-16s ban". The paper also carries a photo of recently sacked BBC Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills walking his dog.
The Daily Express reports on a "shock review" of "drugs hailed as the beginning of the end of Alzheimer's". Researchers found "medicines targeting toxic amyloid protein have only a 'trival' effect effect on cognitive function and dementia in 18 months", according to the paper.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander's car was a victim of a pothole "in a shocking example of the wrecked state of Britain's roads", the Sun says in its lead story. "That's Car-ma" is the headline. Alexander "insists Labour was giving record sums to tackle potholes", the paper reports.
"One year on from historic court victory on single sex spaces, hundreds of public bodies STILL ignore it - because ministers let them," is the Daily Mail's lead story. Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson says the government intends to publish new guidance on single-sex spaces after the elections on 7 May.
The Daily Star continues its coverage of Labour MP Samantha Niblett's efforts to promote sex education over the British summer, in a campaign designed to improve safety and public health. In its exclusive story, the paper writes that Niblett says Parliament is "full of hands-on members" under the headline "the House of Lewds".
The Times, external reports that, during a rehearsal codenamed "Exercise Turnstone", government officials found that the UK farming and hospitality sectors would be hit "earliest and hardest" by any shortage of carbon dioxide caused by the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and other problems with gas production. The paper says CO₂ is used in slaughtering nearly all pigs and more than two-thirds of chickens and the farming sector is not thought to have much by way of surplus supplies. A senior government source told the BBC that the planning was for a worst case scenario and not a prediction of what would happen. The planning did not suggest there would be a lack of critical supplies of food, the source said.
The Daily Telegraph, external leads on a forecast by the International Monetary Fund, that taxes in the UK are set to rise the fastest, out of any of the G7 nations. It says the tax burden as a proportion of GDP will be more than 40%, a "peacetime high" as the paper puts it, at the start of the next decade.
The Financial Times, external reports that Iran has acquired a Chinese-built spy satellite which it is allegedly using to monitor US bases in the Middle East. The paper says that with Tehran targeting its Gulf neighbours, who sell oil to China, the matter is "sensitive". China tells the Financial Times the report is untrue.
The Guardian, external carries an analysis of oil and gas companies' profits reporting that the world's top 100 firms had a "war windfall" in March, totalling $US23bn (£16.9bn).
Hundreds of public bodies are, according to the Daily Mail, external, yet to update their policies on single-sex spaces, despite the Supreme Court's landmark judgement on biological sex, a year ago. The paper's headline is "Labour's Shameful Betrayal of Women". A government spokesperson says it has always supported the protection of single-sex spaces, based on biological sex.
Several of the back pages report that LIV Golf is in jeopardy, with the tour's Saudi backers set to pull their funding. The Daily Telegraph, external says senior executives have been summoned to an emergency meeting in Manhattan.
And the Sun, external reports that the transport secretary's car had to be towed away after hitting a pothole. Heidi Alexander tells the paper the car blew two tyres thanks to a "crater worthy of the moon" on a road near Burford in Oxfordshire. She acknowledges the resulting expense and inconvenience adding that it was "the experience of far too many people in the country at the moment".
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