4th December

Both the Mirror and the Sun lead on the explosions and subsequent fire at a fireworks factory in Sussexwhich claimed the lives of two firefighters.

“THE massive blast at a fireworks factory that killed two firemen yesterday went off “like World War Three”, according to witnesses.
The explosion destroyed the factory owner’s bungalow next door and shattered windows in homes FIVE MILES away.

Residents were evacuated as acrid smoke filled the air and fireworks exploded.
The 12 people injured, two seriously, were NINE firefighters, a police sergeant and two members of the public.”

Reports the Sun,the Mirror reports that

“A stream of rockets was still going off last night more than five hours after a series of explosions wrecked the buildings.”

The Guardian leads this morning on the government announcement due today on the future of the country’s independent nuclear deterrent

Blair opts to cut 20% of warheads

The cut is part of the prime minister's campaign to persuade MPs that the government must start work almost immediately on plans detailed in a white paper to build a replacement fleet.
He will personally announce the cabinet's decision in the Commons this afternoon, and is also likely to say that the number of new Trident submarines could be reduced from four to three without reducing the UK deterrent's effectiveness.

The Indy reports that

“Tony Blair has been warned that he will have to rely on Conservative votes to press through plans to be announced today for the replacement of Britain's nuclear deterrent.
Mr Blair is likely to face one of his last parliamentary showdowns when MPs vote on the plans next year.”

The Litvinenko affair continues,The Times reporting that

“Scotland Yard detectives will fly out to Moscow this week to question a number of Russian businessmen who they believe include a leading suspect in the plot to poison Alexander Litvinenko.

Senior officers have briefed ministers on the man’s identity and on how he made several trips to London in the fortnight before the former Kremlin spy fell ill last month. Nine officers from Scotland Yard’s Counter-Terrorism Unit have been given permission to travel to Moscow by the Russian authorities and told that they will be shadowed by local police during their investigations. “

As the Telegraph reports

Growing tension with Russia over spy death

It though leads on

Revealed: the real rate of inflation

“The cost of living for many British households is up to four times the Government's published rate of inflation, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Millions of families are experiencing inflation far beyond the official rate of 2.4 per cent, new research suggests.”

The Guardian reports that

“The consumer group Energywatch renewed a call for an inquiry into household gas prices last night after it was revealed that although wholesale gas prices have fallen by 40% since March, consumers have suffered rises of 30% in the past six months”

The Mail has another inflationary story on its front page

“MPs are facing a furious public backlash after demanding their pay should rise to £100,000 a year.
Backbenchers have written to the independent body which sets their salary, seeking an eye-watering 66 per cent increase on the current £60,277.
They claim the huge hike would simply put them on a par with other senior public sector workers such as GPs and council chiefs.
But at a time of unparalleled public distrust in MPs, and generally low pay rises based on the inflation rate, they were warned that they are totally out of touch. “

The Express leads on the same story quoting

“One MP claimed his colleagues were “not happy bunnies” at having to get by on their current £60,000 a yerest of us have to manage on rather less.”

The death of three marines in Afghanistan is the front page of the Indy

“First, I heard a deafening crash as the suicide bomber drove his vehicle headlong into the Nato convoy. It was followed by a blast that roared through the crowded streets. Then the flames began to erupt.”

In a vivid article about the suicide bombing of a convoy in Kandahar.

“A British Land Rover had been catapulted on to the central reservation, landing right-side-up at a drunken angle, its machine guns sticking up in the air. Two other vehicles lay abandoned, both pockmarked with bullet holes.”

All the papers report from Chile on the heart attack of former leader Gneral Pinochet
The Guardian reports

“Augusto Pinochet, Chile's former dictator, was in a stable but serious condition last night after being rushed into surgery following a heart attack. General Pinochet, 91, had bypass surgery and was given the last rites as doctors considered further surgery. "He is stable, but of course serious," said Juan Ignacio Vergara at the hospital of the Chilean armed forces.”

As you can imagine the Redtops heavily report on the reopening of the enquiryinto the Stuart
Lovell death

The Mirror reports on an interview with Michael Barrimore before the announcement

“MICHAEL Barrymore says he feels NO blame for the mysterious death of a dad in his pool during a party at his home.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror shortly before detectives re-opened their inquiry into the death of Stuart Lubbock, 31, five years ago, he insisted: "Stuart chose to go in to the pool.
"None of the others did, and no one made him go in. Stuart wasn't a kid - he was 31, a perfectly able adult.”

Although all te talk has been of a miserable Xmas for the highstreet the Guardian reports

What crisis? John Lewis rings up record Christmas sales

“Weekly sales at the 27-strong chain in the week to last Saturday hit £82.2m - more than 13% up on the same week in 2004, 6% up on last year, and 15% ahead of the previous week.
This is in sharp contrast to the dire warning issued last month by the City analyst Richard Ratner, who said that UK retailers could be heading for their worst Christmas trade for 25 years. He said clothing retailers, in particular, had been suffering - with sales down 10%-12%.”

Finally the Star’s front page has the headline

Becks' fury over naked gay pics

“HUNKY football ace David Beckham has given the bum’s rush to a cheeky calendar that’s on sale on a gay adult website.It appears to show him naked except for a cute apron as he sets about doing the housework.The saucy shots were actually posed for by a lookalike – but that hasn’t stopped his Real Madrid and former England team-mates giving him a ribbing.”