Rises in council tax and train fares are the stories that have set the agenda this morning.

According to the Times

Ticket price rises make rail travel 'preserve of the rich'

“Passengers will pay up to 11 per cent more from January 2, with those unable to book in advance bearing the brunt of the increases. Most season tickets and off-peak tickets, prices for which are set by the Government, will rise by 4.3 per cent, 1 per cent above inflation. “

And it is all the fault of the government

“the Government was largely to blame because it set the overall strategy for the railways and was increasing payments for the right to operate franchises. Four companies have each agreed to pay more than £1 billion to the Department for Transport over the next ten years.”

The Telegraph quotes from the chief exec of the passenger focus group

"Inflation-busting price hikes on top of already high fares will make for an unhappy passenger New Year," he said.

Meanwhile the Express headlines more bad news

Your council tax up by 84%

“Ministers yesterday rubberstamped an inflation-busting five per cent rise which will hammer millions of hard-pressed middle income families and pensioners.The swingeing increase means that council tax has risen by 84 per cent under Labour – yet the Government astonished householders by claiming the latest rise was not “excessive”.

The jailing of the killers of the lawyer Thomas Rys Pryce and the emotional statement given from the court by his wife to be is featured heavily.

The Sun’s front page is headlined

Tom fiancee's pain laid bare

“THE unbearable grief endured by the fiancée of murdered lawyer Tom ap Rhys Pryce was laid bare at the Old Bailey yesterday.

A statement, written by Adele Eastman, 32, was read to a hushed courtroom by a prosecutor minutes before the two thugs who stabbed Tom to death were jailed for life.”


The Mirror quotes from the statement

“Calling Tom "my best friend, my soul mate", she said: "My sense of pain and horror at losing him is literally indescribable...

"The pain is unlike anything I could have imagined. I feel as though Carty and Brown have ripped out my heart with their bare hands and torn it, very slowly, into pieces.
"The waves of devastation caused by their greed and bravado roll on and on. The attack which they carried out on Tom was barbaric. They showed him no mercy and have shown absolutely no remorse."

The Guardian leads on an exclusive with allegations of corruption.

“Secret payments of millions of pounds from Britain's biggest arms company have been found in Swiss accounts linked to Wafic Said, a billionaire arms broker for the Saudi Royal family, according to legal sources.

Mr Said refused last night to speak about the allegations. But the discovery presents the biggest potential breakthrough yet achieved in the Serious Fraud Office's three year investigation into allegations that illegal commissions may have been paid to Saudi royals by BAE Systems.”

The Independent’s front page focuses on Ulster and asks

Future of Ulster: Their aim? Reconciliation. Their means? Talking

The article by concentrates on two people from opposite sides of the sectarian divide who have dedicated their time to dialogue

“For two years, behind closed doors, they have united to tackle one of the most deep-seated, difficult and potentially dangerous issues: how to help in healing the thousands of people on whom the Troubles inflicted emotional lacerations.”

The Telegraph reports on the increasing use of sharia law to settle disputes in the Uk.

“Islamic sharia law is gaining an increasing foothold in parts of Britain, a report claims.
Sharia, derived from several sources including the Koran, is applied to varying degrees in predominantly Muslim countries but it has no binding status in Britain.”

Reporting on Radio 4’s law in action programme

“Aydarus Yusuf, 29, a youth worker from Somalia, recalled a stabbing case that was decided by an unofficial Somali "court" sitting in Woolwich, south-east London.

Mr Yusuf said a group of Somali youths were arrested on suspicion of stabbing another Somali teenager. The victim's family told the police it would be settled out of court and the suspects were released on bail.

A hearing was convened and elders ordered the assailants to compensate their victim. "All their uncles and their fathers were there," said Mr Yusuf. "So they all put something towards that and apologised for the wrongdoing."

The Mirror reports that

IN-DEBT LABOUR 'COULD GO BUST'

“Election watchdogs said it has debts of £23million.
Loans worth £5.5million are due to be paid back next month. But the party has little chance of finding the money.

In a statement yesterday Labour admitted it was experiencing "acute cash-flow problems".

The Times meanwhile reports further bad news for the party’s cash flow

“Labour’s £14 million in secret loans from wealthy individuals were secured on preferential terms that could have breached electoral law, it was claimed yesterday.




In a significant development in the cash-for-peerages investigation, the Electoral Commission revealed for the first time details of the terms of all outstanding loans taken out by political parties, including interest rates and repayment dates.

The Mirror’s front page has a picture of a bedraggled David Jason under the headline

Plonkered

“The Only Fools and Horses actor had to be helped into a car by wife Gill after glugging a bit too much of the lovely jubbly bubbly.

Sir David, 66, was dressed like a millionaire as he arrived at the Curzon Cinema in Mayfair, London, for the premiere of Sky One's Christmas adaptation of Terry Pratchett's comedy drama Hogfather - in which he plays Death's manservant Albert.

But when he left after midnight he looked more like he'd been knocking them back with Dave - sorry Rodney - Trigger and Boycie down the Nag's Head.”


The Times reports on

The fish with the most powerful jaws in history

“The ancient sea monster, known as Dunkleosteus terrelli, could bring its fangs together with a force of almost 5,000kg (11,000lb), making it almost four times more powerful than Tyrannosaurus rex.
Its jaws were arranged so that the bite force would have been focused into a small area around the tip of its front fangs, producing a remarkable pressure of 5,600 kg per sq cm (80,000lb per sq in). “

The Independent reflects on the death of Alan Freeman yesterday and the story of Radio
Luxembourg

“His death on Monday, at the age of 79, robs broadcasting of a true pioneer: an iconic member of the illustrious generation of postwar disc jockeys who introduced Britons to pop music.”

“It is also a nail in the coffin for a much loved and parodied institution: Radio Luxembourg, the station that changed the face of radio during the 1950s and early 1960s.”