England’s defeat at the hands of Spain in the women’s World Cup final dominates Monday’s front pages. Metro features a full-page tribute to the Lionesses, using a composite image of the devastated expressions on the faces of some of the team’s stars after their 1-0 loss in Australia. “You did us all proud,” is the paper’s headline of choice.
The Guardian chooses a striking aerial shot of England players and support staff arm-in-arm in a post-match huddle, with the headline “Pride and pain” superimposed in the centre. Manager Sarina Wiegman appears to be speaking to her players, while fullback Lucy Bronze is unable even to stand after a hard-fought match.
The Sun has chosen a picture of “battered but unbowed” defender Alex Greenwood, with a bandage around her head after being hit by an accidental elbow during play, being comforted by midfielder Keira Walsh. The paper’s story leads with England fans expressing their pride at the team’s performance, telling the players to “hold their heads high” after a spirited defeat.
“Proud of you” is the Daily Mirror’s choice for its own full-page tribute to the Lionesses, who it says have “inspired the nation”. In the post-match image the paper has chosen, forward Alessia Russo wipes tearful eyes, while captain and defensive stalwart Millie Bright has her head in her hands at the “pain of defeat”.
The theme of pride in the team’s achievements is a feature of many front pages, with the Daily Star hailing the “Brave Lionesses” who came so close to glory. The paper is the only one to feature an image of the squad together with their second place medals, with smiles even breaking through on some faces.
Even the Financial Times features an image from the World Cup final, highlighting an arresting picture of England players embracing in commiseration next to their Spanish opponents doing the same, but in joy. The paper’s lead story reports that China is pushing for an expansion of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group of developing nations so it can become a “full scale rival to the G7” group of wealthy countries.
Police fear killer nurse Lucy Letby may have attacked 30 more babies before she was caught, according to the Times. Detectives have been reviewing 4,000 cases from the neonatal unit in Chester and a Liverpool hospital where she worked between 2012 and 2016, identifying “suspicious” incidents with the 30 infants, who survived but may have been harmed by her, the paper says.
The families of the babies murdered or harmed by Letby have demanded a law to force convicted people to attend their sentencing hearing, the Daily Mail reports. Accusing Letby of being “cowardly” for failing to be in court for some verdicts, the paper says she is expected to refuse to appear in the dock on Monday to hear how long she will spend in prison.
But a government source has told the Daily Telegraph that Letby could be forced to appear in court to face victims through “lawful enforcement”. The source tells the paper that Letby continuing to refuse to appear in the dock “will only strengthen our resolve to change the law” – so it is not entirely clear if she will be made to attend her sentencing.
The i’s top story reports that “centrist Conservatives” have urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to sack Home Secretary Suella Braverman over her “repeated failures” to solve the crisis of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats. The paper reports on a new poll indicating Tory voters are “turned off by a focus on a ‘anti-woke’ strategy” championed by Mrs Braverman.
The King plans to bring his brother Prince Andrew “in from the cold” according to the Daily Express. The paper says King Charles has offered his “disgraced” brother an “olive branch” by inviting him to the Royal Family’s Balmoral estate in the Scottish highlands, which sources say indicates “relations between the pair have improved greatly”.
Images of England’s footballers, some of them wiping away tears after losing to Spain in the World Cup final, are on all the front pages.
The Daily Telegraph says the players’ desolation should be temporary because the nation’s overwhelming response to this result was not despair that a dream had died, but gratitude that it came to pass at all.
Similarly, an editorial in the Daily Mail says the Lionesses can return home with their heads held high because they’ve brought joy and celebration to the country, at a time when the spiralling cost of living has left many in dire need of a lift.
Separately, on its front page the Mail reports that parents of babies murdered by nurse Lucy Letby are calling for a change to the law that allows offenders to refuse to attend their sentencing.
It’s thought she won’t be in court when the judge imposes her punishment today. One father, whose twin boys Letby tried to kill, tells the paper he feels cheated that she won’t hear how her terrible actions have affected his family.
But the Daily Telegraph says it’s been told by a government source that prison officers could use “lawful enforcement” to ensure Letby is in court.
The paper says under existing rules, judges can order criminals to appear and prison officers are able to use reasonable force to take them to the court. But it’s believed some guards are reluctant to do so, because of the risk of legal action if they are seen to have overstepped what is “reasonable.”
According to the Guardian, Letby may have harmed dozens more infants in addition to those who featured in her trial.
The paper reports that detectives have identified about 30 babies, who suffered “suspicious” incidents at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Police are also examining medical records of babies born at Liverpool women’s hospital, where Letby also worked.
It is increasingly likely that Rishi Sunak will sack Home Secretary Suella Braverman in a reshuffle expected early next month, according to the i.
The paper says those around the prime minister are frustrated with what is described as her divisive rhetoric and failure to reduce the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel. But the article says Downing Street is also worried that outside the Cabinet she would attack the government the run-up to the next general election.
The lead story in the Financial Times says China is pushing for the Brics bloc of big developing countries to become a “full scale rival to the G7” group of industrialised democracies.
The bloc – made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – are expected to invite several other countries to join the group at a summit starting on Wednesday in Johannesburg. But the FT says India has clashed with China, because Delhi doesn’t want Brics to become a political force that openly challenges the West.
The Sun claims a growing number of American parents are naming their children after British towns and cities. Bradford, Aberdeen, Brighton and Carlisle were among newborns registered last year.
