What the papers say – January 31

The downed plane in Washington DC and the latest in British politics dominate Friday’s newspaper headlines to cap off the working week. The Daily Mirror , The Independent and The Times lead on the deaths of all passengers after a passenger plane collided mid-air with a helicopter near Washington DC, with US President Donald Trump blaming air traffic “diversity” for the disaster. Metro splashes on the “nearly half a million” thefts across England and Wales in 12 months, with police data indicating the number of offences is now the highest ever.

The i runs an exclusive on the elderly and the NHS, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging health bosses to fund at-home treatment and care to reduce the number of elderly patients congesting care homes or hospital wards unnecessarily. The Daily Mail leads on a challenge issued by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch for two North Sea oil projects to be green-lit by the Government in the wake of Labour’s newly announced “growth agenda”. The Guardian splashes on the brutal reality experienced by women and girls in the UK, with new figures indicating the gendered violence “epidemic” is actually getting worse.



The Daily Telegraph leads on 10% of farmland that will be lost so the UK can achieve net zero, with plans unveiled that will see pastures swapped for solar farms in the latest “blow to rural life”. The Sun splashes with a story on its own defence editor Jerome Starkey, with the Kremlin issuing an arrest warrant for the British journalist due to his “fearless” coverage of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. The Financial Times reports that the European Central Bank’s decision to cut its benchmark interest rate to 2.

75% is thanks to a “stagnating economy” across the European Union. And, lastly, the Daily Star is getting in early with this headline as it warns of a 100-metre-wide asteroid that could hit the UK in 2032..