The Metropolitan Police comes in for scrutiny, with the Sun leading on what it calls “cowardly” decisions in the investigation into a historic rape claim against Lord Brittan.
The paper’s editorial complains that “they let a former Home Secretary die of cancer with a toxic cloud of suspicion wrongly hanging over him” because the force “feared it might look bad” if they didn’t plough ahead with the inquiry.
They continued to pursue the allegation “not because they had a case but because ‘a decision to take no further action would undoubtedly have resulted in media criticism and public cynicism’,” it quotes from the force’s statement.
The Daily Telegraph points out that the man who rejected prosecutors’ advice to drop the case – Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steve Rodhouse – also headed a separate investigation into claims the former minister was part of an alleged VIP paedophile ring. This is likely to “raise questions over whether he was the right person to take decisions” in the Lord Brittan case, it adds.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail wonders whether Conservative London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith ought to apologise for “smearing” the peer. Mr Goldsmith had spoken in the Commons of “a ‘former Cabinet minister’… photographed ‘in a sauna with a naked boy’,” the Mail says, adding that while the MP didn’t name the suspect, Lord Brittan’s name immediately surfaced on social media.
The Independent notes that Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has called on MPs to consider making it a crime to publicly name a suspect in any police inquiry. He’d already backed calls for sex crime suspects to remain anonymous, it says.
Sir Bernard’s force is also the focus of the Guardian’s front page, which reports that an investigation is under way into alleged police corruption during the 1993 Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry.
The 18-year-old was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, by a gang of white youths. A new investigation will examine the conduct of Det Sgt John Davidson, who denies acting corruptly, and others.
The victim’s mother, Baroness Lawrence, tells the paper: “We have had to fight to get this far, so we can finally have a criminal investigation into the former police officers we suspect.”
Eye-catching headlines
“Ambridge and the troubled waters of rural society” – Academics who are nuts for The Archers are to hold a conference to learn lessons about country life from themes in the BBC Radio 4 soap, reports the Independent
“Klopps and doggers” – the Daily Star says new Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and his wife have been enjoying strolls in a beachside area that’s as popular with nudists and cavorting couples as it is with its footballing residents
“Secret passion of a marathon Queen” – an oral history of the Commonwealth has revealed distance running to be among the monarch’s passions, along with Tupperware and TV drama Midsomer Murders, according to the Times
“Village cricketers up stumps after wild boar stop play” – Gloucestershire team Yorkley Star are likely to disband after boar twice ripped up their pitch. The side had been top of their league last season but ended up relegated after they were unable to host matches, says the Telegraph
Happy holidays?
The case of the father who took on education authorities over a fine for his daughter’s unauthorised absence from school continues to provoke debate. The Daily Mirror declares Jon Platt’s successful court bid to overturn the £120 fine a “victory for common sense”, given that – even after having missed six days at school for a family holiday – his 10-year-old daughter still had a 94% attendance record.
“Schools are right to insist that children have good attendance records. At the same time, many families can’t afford rip-off prices charged by tour companies during school holidays,” the Mirror argues.
The Daily Express agrees, saying: “Parents who routinely let their children roam the streets or laze about at home when they should be in class should face some form of censure. But fining a responsible parent who wants their child to miss a few days at the end of term to go on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday is undeniably harsh.”
As the Sun notes, Mr Platt faced court as an east London headteacher travelled to Australia to represent Great Britain in the Duathlon World Championship. After hearing from unhappy parents, the paper quotes Rush Green primary’s chair of governors saying most feedback was positive when Paul Abeledo was granted five days’ unpaid leave to represent his country.
There’s good news in the Daily Star for parents not keen to brave the threat of court action by taking a term-time break. “Families can save hundreds of pounds on sunshine breaks thanks to a plunge in holiday costs in time for half-term,” the paper says, listing Greece, Portugal, Africa and Thailand among the bargain destinations.
Still, those opting for the British countryside might get a worse deal than continental counterparts. The Daily Mail prices up breaks at UK Center Parcs and finds those offered by a separate company, Centre Parcs Europe, to be about half the cost for a similar offering. “Even after taking into account costs of nearly £200 for a Eurotunnel crossing and fuel,” a four-night break for four in a two-bedroom cottage in France could be more than £660 cheaper, the paper reckons.
What the commentators say
‘Taxi wars’
The High Court ruling that the fare-calculating smartphone app used by minicab firm Uber is legal is painted as a “victory in London’s heated taxi wars” by the FT Weekend.
Even so, the Guardian visits a Black cab rank at the capital’s King’s Cross station to find drivers “unusually reluctant to discuss the ruling”. One, choosing not to give a name, says of Uber drivers that “they should ban them”, while another complains: “We had to do exams.”
However, while the Telegraph’s James Quinn praises London cabbies as “often friendly, and usually full of the ‘Knowledge’ of where to go” – he says the cost of buying a cab and years of training made their industry “the last of the closed shops”.
He compares fares with those in New York, where a “more open regulatory approach” has kept prices low. And he argues that Uber and similar apps have meant minicabs are more “easy to summon, easy to use, and easy to pay for”.
The ruling, says the Times, is as much a victory for consumers as Uber. “If taxis become quicker and cheaper as a result of new competition, that is all to the good. That is the knowledge that passengers want.” It criticises London Mayor Boris Johnson for backing minimum waiting times and a ban on sharing rides, saying such ideas are “as retrograde as forcing mobile phone users to sit down when they make a call”.
Telegraph cartoonist Matt imagines a man hailing a black cab, only to tell the driver: “Can you take me somewhere with better phone reception, I want to order an Uber cab.”
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