After Thursday’s papers were dominated by the latest turns in the Brexit debate, Friday’s offerings are a slightly more mixed bag – with the Disney/21st Century Fox deal, the Grenfell memorial service and a church inquiry all making the front pages.
The Guardian front page runs with Disney buying “the bulk” of Rupert Murdoch’s business in a 66 billion US dollars (£50 billion) deal. The paper calls the sale the “end of an era for Murdoch” but the tycoon has insisted the deal was not a retreat.
The deal also makes the front page of the Financial Times, which calls it a “landmark” – but points out that regulatory hurdles remain.
The main picture on the front of the Telegraph is from the service held at St Paul’s to remember the 71 people who died in the Grenfell tower disaster. The paper’s main story says a Church of England panel wrongly claimed one of its bishops was a paedophile.
The Times claims a 22-year-old spent two years on bail accused of rape while officers “sat on evidence that proved innocence”. Liam Allan said he felt “betrayed” by the system and a judge has called for an inquiry.
Theresa May – never far from the front pages – makes an appearance on the i, which claims she is facing another defeat over Brexit. The paper reports that next week’s vote on enshrining the date of Britain’s exit from the EU will be lost.
While the Daily Mirror runs with the headline “Mayday!”, claiming the PM is facing “one Tory crisis after another” – citing the Brexit defeat, increasing rates of knife crime and a higher rate of homelessness as issues Mrs May is facing.
The Metro front page carries a report on homelessness figures, claiming the data shows the number of people in temporary accommodation has gone up 65% in the last seven years.
The Daily Mail writes of “another human rights fiasco”, reporting that a suspected Iraqi insurgent has been awarded £33,000 compensation after being held in custody for too long.
While the Sun carries a story of a 29-year-old mother who is too ill to work reportedly spending £2,000 on Christmas presents for her children.