Saturday 4th November

The Cash for peerages inquiry leads in the Guardian which reports that the Atorney General’s role in advising the Crown Prosecution service on whether prosecutions should take place is angering MP’s.

“It has also caused anxiety among officers at Scotland Yard, who privately wonder whether he will have the courage to endorse the prosecution of the man who appointed him. They cite Ken MacDonald, the director of public prosecutions, who has declared he will take no part in the case because he is a former colleague of the prime minister's wife.”

The Times concentrates on world affairs and in particular the Middle East

“THE SPECTRE of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised yesterday when six Arab states announced that they were embarking on programmes to master atomic technology. “

The six states are,
The countries involved were named by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Tunisia and the UAE have also shown interest.
All want to build civilian nuclear energy programmes, as they are permitted to under international law. But the sudden rush to nuclear power has raised suspicions that the real intention is to acquire nuclear technology which could be used for the first Arab atomic bomb

It also features on its front a report from the Public Policy research team which claims

THOUSANDS of children are risking their lives sniffing glue and aerosols in a new epidemic of solvent abuse in schools.

Research on the drug habits of young teenagers has found that while use of cannabis and class A drugs has risen slightly over seven years, the numbers sniffing glue has shot up from 28,000 to 168,000 last year.

The Telegraph meanwhile leads on one of the current moans
Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, launched an assault yesterday on the pernicious sales technique of "silent calling".
It threatened Carphone Warehouse, the largest seller of mobile phones, with fines because of its reliance on silent calls, which cause annoyance and anxiety to thousands of people.

The story of the son of Scotland’s first minister partying at his father’s official residence is featured across the papers.

It can happen in even the best ordered of homes; boys will be boys even if the father of one them is the country's most senior politician and is spearheading a nationwide campaign against alcohol-fuelled yobbish behaviour.

The chagrin of Jack McConnell, Scotland's First Minister, was almost palpable yesterday when it emerged that his son Mark and some his friends had taken advantage of the fact that mum and dad were away.

As parents know, in such circumstances all hell can then break out. Unfortunately, the liberties were being taken in a house that is a bit special and doesn't even belong to the McConnells.

Says the Telegraph

His capture on You Tube features in the Times

Friends who drank vodka shots and bounced on the First Minister's bed
YouTube pulls clip of Bute House horseplay after Scottish leader's outrage

The Independent stays on the weeks Green theme on its front page reporting that
Green Power on the march: Thousands unite to rally against global warming
People power comes to the fight against climate change today as Britain witnesses its biggest march and rally demanding the Government acts against the threat of global warming.
From the rock band Razorlight to members of the Women's Institute, from the singer K T Tunstall to the Bishop of Liverpool, the expected crowd of 20,000 in Trafalgar Square will be as wide a cross-section of society as can be assembled anywhere.

It also features the story that is breakin in America days before the mid term elections

Evangelical leader quits after gay sex allegations

In an election eve bombshell, the head of the politically powerful US Christian evangelical movement has resigned after accusations from a gay prostitute that he regularly paid the man for sex.

Ted Haggard, the president of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals, covering thousands of churches and some 50 denominations, denied the charges yesterday, saying he did not know Mike Jones, his male escort accuser.

The Mid term elections feature heavily in the broadsheets

The Guardian says

Neocons turn on Bush for incompetence over Iraq war

Several prominent neoconservatives have turned on George Bush days before critical midterm elections, lambasting his administration for incompetence in the handling of the Iraq war and questioning the wisdom of the 2003 invasion they were instrumental in promoting.
Richard Perle and Kenneth Adelman, who were both Pentagon advisers before the war, Michael Rubin, a former senior official in the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans, and David Frum, a former Bush speechwriter, were among the neoconservatives who recanted to Vanity Fair magazine in an article that could influence Tuesday's battle for the control of Congress. The Iraq war has been the dominant issue in the election.

The Independent is on the campaign trail with George Bush

Unpopular and unwelcome, Bush hits the campaign trail

In the final days of America's election battle, George Bush is hitting the campaign trail in an effort to rally the faithful both to help his party and safeguard the last two years of his presidency.
But unfortunately for Mr Bush, in an awful lot of places, he is simply not welcome. Unlike four years ago, when Mr Bush campaigned furiously for Republicans across the country, his own unpopularity as a result of the war in Iraq has led many candidates to make clear they would rather campaign without him. As a result, his late appearance on the campaign trail is confined to traditionally solid Republican areas where strategists believe his presence can motivate turnout rather than win over new supporters.

To the redtops now and the Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: £400,000 FOR RED CAP WIDOWS

THE widows of two Red Caps killed by an Iraqi mob have secretly been paid £200,000 each by the MoD.

Corporals Russell Aston, 30, and Paul Long, 24, were among six British military policemen who were clubbed, kicked and repeatedly shot in the flashpoint town of Majar al-Kabir.
Anna Aston, 34, and Gemma Long, 25, got the money in the wake of claims the six were sent in with faulty radios and only a few rounds of ammunition.

The families of the four other Red Caps have not had a penny - and were furious yesterday when they learned of the secret deal.


The Sun meanwhile has an exclusive on Frank Bruno

A SHOCKED vice girl told last night how Frank Bruno snorted FOURTEEN lines of cocaine while romping with her during a party at his home.
The former boxing champ claimed last year that he was over the killer drug after dabbling with it for six months.

The Star has a rather sad story
TERRIFIED Jade Goody has revealed how she faces an agonising three-week wait to find out if she has bowel cancer.The Big Brother star fears she may have to battle the killer disease after being rushed to hospital with crippling stomach pains.

A story that also features in the Mirror and the Sun.

The Mirror also reports of a spat between Pm and Prince
TONY Blair yesterday put himself on a collision course with Prince Charles when he attacked Britain's "anti-science brigade".
The PM laid into "powerful and vocal figures with access to all the media" who protested against GM-foods, stem cell research and animal experiments.
Charles has set himself up as an anti-science figure warning technology will kill the earth.
He has also led the campaign against GM-foods by questioning their safety.
But Mr Blair warned such sentiment