Government blunders and immigration dominate the headlines this morning

Both the Express and the Mail lead with immigration stories

165,000 asylum seekers to get 'amnesty' because of Home Office blunder over files says the Mail

The vast bulk of the migrants are failed refugees whose files were left lying in boxes by bungling Home Office staff.
They have now been living here so long that officials have ruled that it would be a breach of their human rights to kick them out.
Ministers admitted that the first 19,000 have already been granted leave to remain under what the Tories described as a "stealth amnesty".

166,500 MORE ASYLUM SEEKERS CAN STAY says the Express

Some 19,000 asylum seekers on so-called “legacy” files dating back years have already been told they can now stay – more than a third of the cases considered so far.
If the approval rate – almost four times the normal one – continues then tens of thousands of the 450,000 backlog cases to be examined will be given the green light.

According to the Telegraph meanwhile

100,000 lose out to migrants in hunt for work

More than 100,000 young Britons may have been pushed into unemployment by the new wave of Eastern European immigrants, an economic analysis on the impact of migration has revealed.The study, by the influential Ernst & Young ITEM Club, found that although the recent influx has boosted Britain's economy and kept inflation low, it may have increased unemployment for younger Britons and reduced pay increases for all.

The paper leads with

Three million L-drivers hit in lost data fiasco

Private information held on teenagers and other people taking the driving theory test - including their names, addresses and phone numbers - have gone missing from a company in America.In the latest such blunder by the Government, Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, disclosed that the files held on a hard disc drive were lost at a facility in Iowa City last May.

According to the Mirror which also leads with the story

And last night it was claimed ministers learned the data was lost six months ago - but decided not to let on. Ms Kelly told MPs there was "no substantial risk to individuals" because the information did not contain bank or credit card details, dates of birth, driving licence numbers or national insurance numbers.

Honours system damned by Westminster inquiry is the main story in the Guardian

Gordon Brown will be asked by a powerful committee of MPs tomorrow to immediately introduce fundamental reforms for the appointment of peers following the "cash for honours" scandal that has dogged the Labour party for almost two years.
A report seen by the Guardian calls for a complete change in the appointment of peerages, a new corruption act and fresh powers for party funding watchdogs to take tougher action against parties breaking the law.

Peer selection ‘needs urgent reform’ after cash-for-honours affair says the Times

In an explosive report to be published tomorrow the committee says that there should also be a new Corruption Act and new powers for party funding watchdogs to help prevent a repeat of the affair, which led to the arrest of two of Tony Blair’s closest aides.
It also says that Scotland Yard always had a low chance of securing a prosecution under the 1925 Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act during its 18-month investigation.

Meanwhile the same paper reports on

How a retired police chief became Britain’s highest-paid officer

One of the country’s most senior police officers is picking up a six-figure salary and a full pension after retiring six years ago then returning to work as a chief constable, The Times has learnt.
Ian Johnston, who leads the British Transport Police (BTP) and is a national police spokesman on organised crime, is the highest-paid officer in the country with an estimated pay-and-pension package of £260,000 a year

The Independent breaks the mould leading with

The new struggle for South Africa

It is as a contest between the head and the heart that one can define the rowdy electoral contest under way for the ANC presidency, a contest whose outcome this week could determine whether South Africa remains for the rest of the African continent a model of democratic stability and macroeconomic health or dwindles into slow decay. says the paper

ANC's rival camps ratchet up struggle says the Guardian

Zuma's supporters, confident that their man will sweep to victory, rowdily disrupted and dominated the ANC five-yearly conference for a second day by dancing and singing his trademark song - Bring Me My Machine Gun - while Mbeki's delegates fought back by chanting the president's name. Both sides also held large rallies outside the meeting.

The same paper reports on

Plan for high street banks to bail out Rock

The plan would allow the government to reduce its role almost immediately if the bank was nationalised. It would also help the government find a way to ease the bill for the taxpayer and prevent any distortion that would take place in the mortgage market from having the fifth-largest player controlled by the state

The Telegraph reports on

Gordon Brown's u-turn over lost pensions

After a prolonged battle within the Cabinet, the Prime Minister agreed to increase the compensation paid to 140,000 workers who invested in company schemes on Government advice, but then lost out when those schemes collapsed.

Ministers cave in with £1bn extra to cover lost pensions says the Independent

The news means that all those who lost their pensions before May 2004 will now receive 90 per cent of what they were due, up to an annual limit of £26,000, but rising with inflation every year. An additional 11,000 people who also lost their pensions when their schemes were wound up – in spite of their employer remaining solvent – will also qualify for the payouts.

Brit floods are like terror reports the Sun

FLOODING is as big a threat to Britain as terrorism or a deadly flu pandemic, an official inquiry has warned.

Ministers were urged to draw up a national emergency plan following this summer’s devastating floods.
The report by Sir Michael Pitt said new homes need to be better designed to cope with floods – and rescue equipment like boats should be stockpiled. And families in flood risk areas were also urged to be better prepared.

The Guardian reports that

Draconian measures to limit flooding, including bans on tarmac drives and impermeable patios, were accepted in principle by the government yesterday after a report on last summer's disaster ranked the future threat of flooding alongside terrorism or a flu pandemic.
The narrowest of margins prevented a worse catastrophe than the 13 deaths and the 48,000 homes and 7,000 businesses ruined, said an independent panel headed by Sir Michael Pitt, whose 15 key conclusions were approved within hours by Hilary Benn, the environment secretary.

UK Guantanamo detainee near suicide after years of torture, doctors warn says the Independent

A British resident being held in Guantanamo Bay may be close to suicide after five years of captivity and torture at the hands of the Americans, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband has been warned in a medical report sent to the Government this week.
The report concludes that Binyam Mohamed, from Kensington, west London, is at the end of his "psychological tether" after guards at the US naval base in Cuba switched off the water supply to his cell when he began spreading his own faeces over the walls.

£3.7bn aid saves Palestinians from bankruptcy reports the Telegraph

The pledge, by 68 states and 20 international bodies at a conference in Paris, surpassed even the hopes of the Palestinians who had asked for £2.8 billion.
Salam Fayyad, the prime minister of the Palestinian government, said the pledges represented an "important vote of confidence from the international community. This conference provided endorsement for our vision of statehood," he said.

Presidential campaigners find out who their friends really are says the Times

At least eight viable candidates to be the next president of the United States were preparing yesterday for a frantic final fortnight before the first American voters deliver their verdict in the marathon contest for the White House.
For the first time in modern American politics the race in both the Democratic and Republican parties appears to be wide open with Hillary Clinton faltering in recent weeks in the face of a challenge from Barack Obama, while Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney — who once led the Republican field — have watched aghast as Mike Huckabee has surged to the front.

Tributes paid to stab victim says the Mirror

Murdered schoolboy Ahmed Hassan, 17, was praised yesterday as a kind and gentle teenager who was a shining example to the world.
Ahmed was killed by a single stab wound in the back as he set out on a shopping trip.
His head teacher, Mark Tweedle, said: "One of his teachers remarked: 'If the world were full of Ahmed Hassans it would be a very much better place'.



The Sun welcomes the new England manager on its front page

Mi Senta Sopra La Luna is its headline

NEW Three Lions boss Fabio Capello managed just three lines of English yesterday – but vowed to learn the lingo inside a MONTH.
He told newsmen: “I am very proud and honour-red to be the England manager.
“I have wanted this job for a long time. And at this moment my English is not so well so I prefer to be in Italian.”

Capello's Three Lions pledge says the Mirror

The former Real Madrid, Juventus and Roma boss, who begins his £6million-a-year job on January 7, delivered a defiant message as he vowed to make England great again.
Capello, 61, also said he would make sure players felt proud to play for their country after the dismal Euro 2008 qualification failure.

Another welcome as most of the papers report

Countess of Wessex gives birth to baby boy

The new addition to the Royal Family, who weighed 6lb 2oz, was delivered safely at 4.20pm in a private suite at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey. The Earl of Wessex was with his wife.The baby was delivered by Maurice Setchell, the Surgeon Gynaecologist to the Queen, who was the head of a seven strong medical team.
The baby is the Queen’s and the Duke of Edinburgh’s eighth grandchild. He will be in eighth in line to the throne. He is the first male grandchild for the Queen and Prince Philip since Prince Harry was born 23 years ago.

Many of the papers report

Ofcom launches probe into X Factor voting after fans claim Rhydian
was 'robbed'

The Mail reports that

Fans of The X Factor have flooded ITV with complaints about the live final, claiming they had problems voting.
Media watchdog Ofcom is to investigate scores of cases of viewers who say they were unable to cast their votes for the eventual runner-up Rhydian Roberts.
The Welshman, who started Saturday's show as 1-3 favourite, was beaten by Leon Jackson in what bookmakers described as "the biggest shock in reality show history".

Amy Winehouse faces £300k legal bill reports the Mail

Amy Winehouse suffered a new blow yesterday after learning she must pay her husband's £300,000 legal aid bill.
The troubled star was gutted when Blake Fielder-Civil's plea for costs was rejected.
It means she must fund his fight against charges that he tried to fix a trial.
The final legal bill could spiral up to £500,000.

More Xmas cheer from the Express

BROWN TAX ON CHRISTMAS

FAMILIES will be hit by an average £225 stealth tax bill this Christmas, it was claimed yesterday.
The cash will be squeezed out of households in VAT on gifts, excise duty on alcohol, and fuel tax on trips to visit friends.
Hidden tax costs include around £30 on a popular gift such as a personal music player, £6 on a bottle of champagne and £2.25 on a typical box of crackers.

The Beeb comes in for critisism too

Viewers tell BBC they don't want 'downmarket' reality TV - but KEEP Strictly Come Dancing says the Mail
The BBC has admitted its own audiences are fed up with the number of predictable and derivative shows it airs.
Viewers have told the corporation they are sick of endless "ratings-chasing shows" which lack originality and have asked for programmes to stop "plunging downmarket".

And finally staying on the same topic,the Telegraph as does many of the papers reports

BBC censors The Pogues' Christmas classic

The BBC has censored a popular Christmas song amid fears the lyrics will upset homosexuals.Radio 1 bosses have bleeped out the word faggot from the song, for fear it will offend homosexuals, but have provoked the ire of one of their own leading DJs as well as listeners.