Newspaper Headlines: 'Laughing criminals let loose' and 'Return to the castle'
- BBC News
Spoiler warning: This press review reveals details from the first episode of The Celebrity Traitors, series two.
Inmates who have been released early from prisons in England and Wales are pictured on what the paper calls "Get out of jail free day". It reports the first 700 of an expected 4,500 inmates eligible under the scheme were freed on Thursday.
- Metro
- "Inmates... let loose"
The Daily Mail suggests that up to 50,000 offenders a year are likely to be freed early under Labour's "justice programme", adding they will "get nastier every month".
- Daily Mail
- "First of 10 scheduled releases..."
Ministers are working on "sweeping plans" for welfare reform, including scrapping a key benefit for under-25s and replacing it with a multibillion-pound package to get people into work. The move could be "fraught with political danger" after last year's "dramatic welfare rebellion" from Labour MPs. Friday's paper also highlights the second series of The Celebrity Traitors, which aired its first episode on Thursday, earning a "four-star return to the castle".
- Guardian
"Global bond sell-off leaves US trapped in 'vicious loop': Global borrowing costs surged on Thursday.
- Financial Times
Sources tell the i Paper that Prime Minister Andy Burnham is "leaving the door open" for a snap general election in May 2027, noting a "growing school of thought" about a "sweet spot" for an election then.
- i Paper
An exclusive interview with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch takes center stage in the Daily Express, where she vows to "fight for Brexit and defend the triple lock".
- Daily Express
The Sun reports that Prime Minister Burnham has been accused of "political interference" after he commented on the Manchester City scandal.