Both the Times and the Guardian lead with the release of 3 britons from Guantánamo bay

Guantánamo three held on return to UK says the Guardian

Three men released from Guantánamo Bay after five years yesterday were being held by British police last night, even though, according to counter-terrorism sources, they are unlikely to face criminal charges in the UK.
Last night it emerged Spanish authorities have told British police they will seek to extradite two of the men - Jamil el-Banna and Omar Deghayes - who could face terrorism charges in Spain. El-Banna was last night arrested on behalf of the Spanish authorities. He was being questioned at a Luton police station and will appear before magistrates today.

three freed – and detained says the Times

Mr Deghayes and Mr Sameur are thought to have been arrested because of evidence that they had been in Afghanistan and Pakistan at the time of the fall of the Taleban in 2001. Mr el-Banna was treated more leniently because he had not been near the combat zone at that time. The British authorities are thought to be content to release all three after interview, but security sources told The Times that Mr el-Banna and Mr Deghayes could face a fast-track extradition to Madrid on terrorist charges. Lawyers for the men, who were allegedly tortured in Guantanamo, deny the allegations made by Spain and said they would fight extradition.

Another release from a US prison in the Independent

Scotsman free after 20 years on US death row

Kenny Richey, the Scottish national whose 20 years on Ohio's death row made him a cause célèbre for death penalty opponents, will walk free from prison today after the collapse of the murder case against him.
Mr Richey, now 42, has spent more than half his life insisting he had no responsibility for the death of his ex-girlfriend's two-year-old daughter, who perished in a fire in the tiny Ohio town of Columbus Grove in June 1986.

Kenny Richey to walk free after plea deal says the Telegraph

Kenny Richey, 43, whose conviction was overturned earlier this year, will be sentenced to time he has already served and could be back in Scotland on Saturday.
He has agreed to plead “no contest” to involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and breaking and entering.
The plea is a statement that no defence will be presented and does not amount to an admission of guilt, but is treated like a guilty plea by the courts.

The paper leads with

Drivers who use mobile phones face jail

Motorists caught using a hand-held mobile phone while driving could be jailed for two years under tough new guidelines issued today by prosecutors.Prosecutions will be brought if by using the equipment a motorist is judged to have posed a danger to other drivers, such as causing another car to swerve.

The fall out form the Man United Xmas party continues to take many column inches

I'm no rapist says the Sun

MANCHESTER United ace Jonny Evans insisted “I didn’t do it” after he was accused of rape.
The 19-year-old Northern Ireland international protested his innocence in a series of calls to close friends.
He rang round after a girl accused him of raping her at the club’s Christmas party.
Last night it was revealed a male pal of the alleged victim was headbutted by a Man U player on the dance floor at the ill-fated hotel bash.

The Mirror announces that

Man Utd boss bans Christmas

Furious United boss Sir Alex Ferguson banned all Christmas parties for his stars. The fiery Scot read the riot act to the players as they turned up to training yesterday morning.
A club source said: "He was seething when he heard what had supposedly gone on... and can you blame him? As far as Sir Alex is concerned the sort of night they had on Monday will be a thing of the past.
"There were a few shame-faced players who arrived at training... dreading coming face to face with the boss."

Don't panic, says Brown as he seeks to reassure voters reports the Guardian

Gordon Brown yesterday urged voters and anxious Labour MPs not to panic in the face of threats to the economy and a series of blunders that have questioned the competence of the government.
For the last monthly press conference of the year Brown brought along Alistair Darling, the chancellor, to reassure the public they were tackling the fallout from the run on Northern Rock, and dealing with the errors that the Labour donor and data loss problems had thrown up.

Brown defends handling of banking crisis says the Indpendent

Gordon Brown hinted at further cuts in interest rates yesterday after announcing he had consulted world leaders, including the US President George Bush, over the global banking crisis.


Meanwhile the Mail reports that

Shoppers get £1bn Christmas present after EU tells Mastercard to scrap illegal fees

Credit card companies have been told to slash the fees they charge shops for authorising sales.
The EU ruling should mean a fall in prices of up to £1billion a year in the UK.
Tesco alone pays £100million a year to the banks for processing credit and debit cards.
Brussels Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said she was delivering "an early Christmas present to consumers".

Luxury car prices to soar as EU cracks down on exhaust fumes reports the Times

Drivers face steep price rises for luxury cars under measures to force manufacturers to meet strict CO2 targets. Those who go green by buying a car with low emissions will be rewarded with savings on fuel over the lifetime of the vehicle, according to plans unveiled yesterday.
With several commissioners dissenting, the European Commission set a four-year phase-in period from 2012 for fines on manufacturers whose fleets exceed an average of 120 g/km of the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

A common market for health reports the Independent

Europe stands on the brink of a historic decision to open its borders to medical tourism, casting a dramatic spotlight on the performance of the UK's health system against that of neighbouring countries.
Cancer treatment, heart surgery and hip replacements could be available, in certain circumstances, to UK citizens in any of the EU's 27 countries. Under the plans, they would have the right to seek treatment anywhere which offered quicker access to care than was available on the NHS, with the NHS picking up the bill.

GPs offered £150m for longer opening times says the Guardian

GPs in England will today be offered a £150m sweetener to persuade them to back Gordon Brown's plan for extending surgery opening hours into evenings and weekends, the Guardian has learned.
The Department of Health is understood to have approved a package of rewards for doctors who are prepared to provide a more flexible service.
However, some may feel the deal is not attractive because it involves redirecting existing bonus payments rather than new money. The offer will be presented to the British Medical Association's GP committee today, and talks continued last night between BMA chiefs and NHS Employers, representing local health trusts.

Many of the papers focus on the Diana inquest,the Express leads with

Charles plans to murder me

The first page, written in Diana’s distinctive large, rounded hand, was made public after it was discussed at the inquest into the deaths of the Princess and her lover Dodi Fayed.
It shows that at the time the letter was written, apparently in October 1996 – 10 months before her death – the Princess feared she was to be bumped off to clear the path for Prince Charles to marry their children’s nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke.


The Sun reports that

A SENSATIONAL handwritten letter by Princess Diana claiming Charles wanted to kill her in a car crash was revealed in full for the first time yesterday.
Diana scribbled the letter on headed paper in October 1996 warning her husband wanted her murdered so he could marry their children’s nanny.

Meanwhile the Mirror announces that

Diana 'was on Pill'

Princess Diana was on the Pill during her affair with Dodi Fayed, the inquest into their deaths heard yesterday.
Debbie Gribble, chief stewardess on the Faye downed yacht on which Di had three trips, said she saw packets of the contraceptive in her cabin.
Ms Gribble said: "They were clearly having a relationship and they were on board as a couple."

Betrayal of stay-at-home mothers: 8m women lose state pensions after Government u-turn reports the Mail

More than eight million women who took time out of work to care for their children have lost their chance of a full state pension after a Christmas u-turn by the Government.
Ministers have dropped plans to give women with a partial pension entitlement the chance to make up the shortfall before they retire, it emerged last night

The Telegraph carries an interview with David Cameron and George Osbourne

How Osborne gave David Cameron a free run

David Cameron and George Osborne reached a secret pact over who should run for the Tory Party leadership but ruled out any deal over the succession.The agreement will draw inevitable comparisons with the Granita pact made between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown over the Labour leadership at a north London restaurant.
But unlike the Blair Brown deal there was no agreement on who the succession and Mr Cameron pointedly refused to endorse Mr Osborne as his successor.

Meanwhile the Independent reports

I don't believe in God, says Clegg

Nick Clegg revealed that he does not believe in God as he sketched out his policy priorities on his first full day as leader of the Liberal Democrats. Asked: "Do you believe in God?" during a BBC Radio Five interview, Mr Clegg replied simply: "No." Later he issued a statement in an attempt to ensure that his answer did not offend people with religious beliefs.
Mr Clegg, whose Spanish wife, Miriam, is Catholic, said later: "I have enormous respect for people who have religious faith. I'm married to a Catholic and am committed to bringing my children up as Catholics... the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or mind."

Archbishop says nativity 'a legend'says the Telegraph

The Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men was nothing but a 'legend'.
Dr Rowan Williams has claimed there was little evidence that the Magi even existed and there was certainly nothing to prove there were three of them or that they were kings.

The Mirror reports that

BNP ballerina to marry BNP boss

BNP-supporting ballerina Simone Clarke is to wed Richard Barnbrook, one of the leaders of the racist party.
And all we can say is that the rabidly right wing pair deserve one another.
Their relationship began after Clarke, a 37-year-old principal dancer with the English National Ballet, was unmasked as a BNP member last December

News from abroad and the Times reports that

Top prosecutor says Zuma will face corruption charges soon

South Africa’s top prosecutor said today that there is enough evidence to prosecute Jacob Zuma, the new head of the ruling ANC, on allegations of corruption.
Hours before Mr Zuma was due to address the party in his first keynote speech as leader, the acting director of prosecutions said that he believed charges would be filed soon.
“We have enough of a case to bring to court,” Mokotedi Mpshe told 702 Talk Radio. Asked whether charges would be filed soon, Mr Mpshe replied: “Yes, that’s my impression".

In about turn, Bush signs climate change bill reports the Guardian

President George Bush, after years of holding out against proposals to combat climate change, yesterday signed into law an energy bill establishing higher fuel-economy standards for new cars and other conservation measures.
Bush described the bill as "a major step toward energy independence and easing global warming". The White House claimed it went part of the way to fulfilling promises made at the environmental conference in Bali last week.

Many of the papers report that

Putin is Time magazine's Person of the Year

He pipped four others to the title. Al Gore, the former US vice president who shared the Nobel Peace prize this year, was runner-up followed by JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author, President Hu Jintao of China and Gen David Petraeus, the commander of US forces in Iraq.
The award, often made to stoke controversy and supposed to be a recognition of influence rather than an honour, was given to the Russian president because he had reshaped a country that had "fallen off our mental map", according to Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor. says the Telegraph

Finally many of the papers report

Plaster of disguise: Bandaged Michael Jackson goes shopping in Las Vegas

Hat jammed on head, a shawl around the neck, those ever present sunglasses and a face covered in sticking plasters.
Yes, it's Michael Jackson on another "incognito" shopping trip.
Accompanied by his children Prince, 10; Paris, nine; and five-year-old Blanket, the troubled 49-year-old star enjoyed a late-night visit to a bookshop in Las Vegas. says the Mail

Sticko Jacko says the Sun

MICHAEL JACKSON goes Christmas shopping looking as if his face is held together with Post-it notes.
The one-time King of Pop resembled a horror movie extra - prompting fresh speculation he’s gone under the knife AGAIN.