Many newspapers have paid tribute to former England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who has died aged 76. “Don’t be sorry, smile… it was fantastic,” ran the headline in the Metro newspaper, referring to a comment he made in a new documentary about his life and career. Eriksson revealed in January that he had cancer and had at best a year to live.
That same Eriksson quote is the headline on the Daily Mirror’s cover. The newspaper details how David Beckham, whom Eriksson made England captain after becoming manager in 2001, met his former boss to say goodbye. “We laughed, we cried. Thank you Sven,” Beckham says.
The Guardian’s tribute to Eriksson also features a quote from David Beckham, describing Eriksson as “always passionate, caring, calm and a true gentleman”. The newspaper runs as its headline an article detailing the “staggering” rise in anxiety among children, detailing official figures that show that nearly 4,000 children are being referred to NHS mental health services in England each week for anxiety. Doctors, NHS managers and health officials have described the rise in anxiety referrals as “staggering” and “shocking”.
“Violent criminals allowed to simply apologise,” is the headline in the Daily Telegraph. According to the accompanying article, more than 147,000 people accused of offences including sex crimes have been granted community resolutions, which can involve apologies and do not result in a criminal record, rather than being prosecuted. A former police officer told the Telegraph that the rise in knife crime made the use of community resolutions for knife possession particularly worrying. The Telegraph also ran a photo of Eriksson on its front page.
The Times also ran a crime story, with the headline “Police back down on punishing shoplifters”. The paper reported that analysis of official figures showed that the majority of police forces had not issued a single punishment for shoplifting in the year to March. The Home Secretary was quoted as saying that the “shameful neglect” of shoplifting must end. The paper also paid another tribute to Sven-Goren Eriksson, referring to the number of high-profile relationships he had that “made headlines outside the sports pages”.
The front page of the i newspaper features an investigation it carried out into one of the UK’s largest care providers. The newspaper’s analysis found that since Voyage Care was bought by Kuwait in January 2022, around a third of its care homes have seen their performance ratings drop and 23 have seen their safety standards drop in assessments by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Voyage Care says 89% of its sites in England have been rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC and sites in Scotland and Wales are ‘100% compliant’.
“Top defence contractors set to earn $52bn in cash as orders soar,” ran the headline in the Financial Times, referring to the profits that major aerospace and defence companies are expected to make over the next three years as governments buy weapons at an increased pace due to heightened global tensions. The headline also included a denial from French President Emmanuel Macron that the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov – dubbed the “Zuckerberg of Russia” – was politically motivated.
The Daily Mail has published an exclusive story on the cuts to military training that would save £400 million to fund pay rises for soldiers. According to the newspaper, soldiers will pretend to fire weapons rather than using live ammunition. The Ministry of Defence said the pay rise would be funded through “reprioritisation and cost-saving measures”, adding that it would “never compromise the safety of our personnel”.
The Daily Express quotes British Reform MP Nigel Farage as accusing the government of “making economic decisions based on who will vote for it in the next election”. Mr Farage is backing the newspaper’s campaign to reverse cuts to winter heating benefits for millions of pensioners. He has warned of further “shocks” to come in Labour’s October budget.
Quoting gleeful “artificial intelligence experts”, the Daily Star’s headline reads “our last chance to stop psychopathic killer robots”, referring to comments made by a Human Rights Watch expert. Mary Wareham is among those calling for restrictions on lethal autonomous weapons systems powered by artificial intelligence – known as Laws – that select and target locations without human intervention. Ms Wareham wants a decision on whether world leaders should ban them to be taken at a United Nations summit next month.
THE Tutor The Guardian reports on what it calls a “staggering” rise in anxiety among children since the Covid pandemic. According to official figures, more than 500 young people a day are being referred to NHS mental health services in England for anxiety. Experts tell the newspaper there are a number of reasons, including worries about exams, the influence of social media and post-pandemic uncertainty. The Guardian says mental health officials fear the figures are “just the tip of the iceberg” and that the situation highlights the urgent need to tackle the children’s mental health crisis.
THE The Daily Telegraph The newspaper reports that police are increasingly letting sex offenders and knife offenders escape prosecution if they apologise. The newspaper says that in the year to March, more than 147,000 people charged with offences, including violent crimes, were made subject to community resolutions – which do not result in a criminal record. The newspaper bases its report on analysis of Ministry of Justice data. A former police officer and former No 10 adviser, Rory Geoghegan, told the newspaper that a rise in knife offences has made the use of community resolutions for knife possession “particularly concerning”.
The first page of the Times The paper also focuses on crime. It claims that the police have “almost entirely” backed away from punishing shoplifters, despite the rising number of offences. It says its own analysis of official data found that 431 shoplifters were given fixed penalty notices for thefts worth less than £100 in the year to March. The paper says this is a 98% drop on a decade ago, when more than 19,000 fines were issued. The Times says insiders fear that the almost total lack of enforcement action is encouraging further criminal behaviour.
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According to the Times, analysis of official data shows a significant drop in the number of fixed penalty notices issued for shoplifting.
THE Daily Mail According to the newspaper, a £400m shortfall means some military exercises are being scrapped or scaled back, with soldiers forced to “pretend” to fire rather than use live ammunition. In a statement, the defence secretary told the newspaper that the government would “never compromise” on the safety of personnel.
The largest aerospace and defense companies are expected to rake in record levels of cash over the next three years, according to the Financial Times. The five largest U.S. defense contractors are expected to generate $26 billion in cash flow by the end of 2026, nearly double the figure at the end of 2021, according to the report.
The death of Sven-Goran Eriksson, the first foreign manager of an English football team, is widely reported on the front pages and back pages of newspapers. Many imagine him meditating and highlight his words from a recent documentary about his life: “Don’t be sorry, smile.” The Daily Express calls him a “special man,” while the The Daily Mirror is one of those who reported on the last time David Beckham spent time with his former manager, saying: “We laughed, we cried… and we knew we were saying goodbye.” On its final page, the Sun The title simply says: “Thanks, Boss.”
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