Many of the papers lead with the latest tranche of the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice, which includes an email exchange between Ghislaine Maxwell and a person signing off as ‘A’ writing from the “Balmoral Summer Camp for the Royal Family”. The Daily Mirror says the author of the email asked Maxwell to “find me some ‘friends'” who are described as “inappropriate”, according to the paper. The emails do not indicate any wrongdoing. The BBC has contacted Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s team for a response. The former prince has previously denied all wrongdoing.
Under the headline “Ghislaine Maxwell emails revealed”, the Sun says she allegedly sought to “find fun girls for Andrew”.
“Andrew, ‘fun girls’ and ‘inappropriate friends'” is the i Paper’s summary of the latest round of the Epstein files.
The Guardian also leads with the “girls” email from the Epstein files, saying “Andrew faces new pressure”. A photo shows climate activist Greta Thunberg being questioned by a police officer in London. The paper writes she was arrested “after protesting in support of the Prisoners for Palestine hunger strike”.
The government will “scrap farm raid” plans, the Daily Express writes. Labour will raise the “tax threshold on inherited farmland” from £1m to £2.5m, the paper says. It quotes farmer Jonathan Charlesworth – whose dad took his own life “amid fears” of the tax – saying the change was “the best Christmas present for a lot of farmers”. A preview of King Charles III’s Christmas message, which will be delivered from Westminster Abbey, also features on the front page.
Labour’s “quiet Christmas U-turn” on its inheritance tax plans is the Financial Times’s take. “Treasury to forgo £130mn” in tax revenue as a consequence, the paper writes, as it “shrinks [the] share of farmers facing inheritance tax to 15%”.
The Times says Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faced a “revolt by Labour MPs” over the initial £1m inheritance tax threshold proposal, writing “Downing Street was warned that over 40 MPs were prepared to defy Starmer.”
The prime minister’s “U-turn on farm tax” is described by the Daily Mail as a “humiliating capitulation to his backbenchers”.
“Farmers cheer as Starmer U-turns on tractor tax raid” reads the Independent’s headline, which the paper says follows “months of fierce protests – and financial anguish for many families”.
“Loathe actually” is the Daily Star’s headline spin on the popular Christmas film Love Actually, whose director Richard Curtis and his wife Emma Freud oppose “the idea of a 30-pitch campsite in their swanky village”. Plans for the campsite were approved by East Sussex Council, which Mr Curtis “objects to”, the paper says.
The Times is one of several papers to highlight emails from the Epstein files, which reveal that Ghislaine Maxwell sought “pretty, fun girls” for someone called Andrew. The Sun calls the emails “a bombshell”, while the Daily Mirror says pressure is growing on Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
The Guardian says the Metropolitan Police contacted the US authorities last month asking whether or not there were any ongoing investigations related to the former Duke of York and his relationship with the disgraced financier. Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing.
The other main story is the government watering down its plans to tax inherited farms. The Daily Telegraph features an interview with the son of a farmer who took his own life last year, shortly before the government formally announced its original plans. Jonathan Charlesworth says his father was worried and that he would still be alive if the threshold had been set at the new level of £2.5m from the start.
The Daily Mail calls the rethink on the policy “yet another humiliating capitulation to his backbenchers” for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The Daily Express says many farmers will now fight to continue their campaign, this time aiming for an inheritance tax exemption for their farms. The Financial Times calls the development an “unexpected u-turn just before Christmas, with Parliament not sitting”, and calculates that the net annual cost to Treasury coffers will be £130m.
The “i” Paper says that rented Christmas trees are growing in popularity, sparked by environmental concerns. One business in Scotland which has spoken to the paper says 86% of its rentals have been to returning customers this winter. In the summer, the trees are looked after in a nursery. The Telegraph quotes University of Sheffield research which says the trees which go into landfill release 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Academics have suggested pine needles from discarded trees could be used to produce sweeteners, paint, adhesives and vinegar.
