Voters give the Tories a clear 13-point lead when asked which party they would back in a likely contest between Mr Brown, Mr Cameron and Sir Menzies Campbell.
The result would give the party 42% of the vote against Labour on 29%, similar to its performance under Michael Foot in 1983. The Liberal Democrats would drop to 17%. The result is the highest that the Conservatives have scored in any ICM poll since July 1992, just after their last general election victory.
It spurs the paper's leader column to write
Mr Brown knows that he cannot hope to arrive in office as a new face; he is too well known and properly proud of what he has achieved. But in the light of polls like this, why should he expect to take power as if by right? A challenge for the leadership would clarify things. Labour MPs should make sure it happens.
The Telegraph trumpets the same poll on its front page,
Poll shows Cameron ahead of Brown as Tories hit 15-year high
It will be seen by Mr Cameron as vindicating his strategy of moving his party back to the centre ground by concentrating on issues such as the family, the NHS and the environment despite criticism that he is alienating the Tories' core vote.
The poll was carried out after a week of controversy over reports – not officially denied – that the Conservative leader came close to expulsion from Eton 25 years ago for smoking cannabis.
The paper's second lead proclaims
The generation of 'damaged' girls
A generation of very young girls is being psychologically damaged by inappropriate "sexy" clothing, toys and images in the media that are corrupting childhood, leading psychologists warn today.
They say marketing takes unfair advantage of children's desire for affection and the need to conform, leading to eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression.
The American Psychological Association's report says inappropriate marketing is leading to the sexualisation of children by a consumer society.
Both the Independent and the Mail take a look at the high street banks
Customers see red over the scandal of illegal charges says the former
Britain's biggest banks are facing an unprecedented people's revolt as millions of ordinary customers prepare to claim back illegal charges.
Internet-based campaigners plan to use the annual bank profits reporting season, which takes place over the next fortnight, to trigger a massive round of complaints about unauthorised overdraft charges.
Martin Lewis, the founder of the campaigning internet site Moneysavingexpert.com, said: "For years, all the high street banks have routinely ripped off millions of customers and now they are going to pay the penalty."
Bank chief predicts the end of the free bank account says the Mail
Banks and building societies are moving to kill off free banking as they prepare to unveil record profits of more than £40 billion.
Industry leaders claim compulsory monthly fees on current accounts, which are common in North America and Europe, are the 'fairest' way to charge.
And the new boss of the Nationwide Building Society, Graham Beale, said yesterday: "I do believe fee-based banking is a fairer proposition."
His remarks stunned consumer groups and politicians, who last night accused the banks of 'pure greed'.
The move towards charges on current accounts comes at a time when the banks' reputation is at a new low.
Their profits are under threat from a watchdogs' crackdown on credit- card charges. They also face an unprecedented campaign from customers anxious to claim compensation for unfair and sometimes illegal fees charged on their overdrafts.
The Times reports on the arrest of a suspect following the recent spate of letterbombs
Police search the school where letter-bomb suspect worked
A school caretaker was being questioned last night over a letter-bomb campaign that has injured ten people.
Police gave warning that other explosive devices may already be in the post.
Miles Cooper, 26, was arrested at 3am yesterday by detectives investigating seven explosive devices sent in Jiffy-type envelopes to companies linked to motoring enforcement and the “surveillance society”.
Scenes-of-crime officers yesterday searched Teversham C of E Primary School, in Cherry Hinton, near Cambridge, where Mr Cooper has worked as a caretaker and cleaner for the past two years.
Mr Cooper, described by neighbours as a bicycling loner, was arrested at his home in Cherry Hinton where police are believed to have had him under surveillance for several days. Officers removed computer equipment and said that they expected to spend several days searching the three-bedroom home.
The Sun announces
LETTER BOMB GEEK HELD
POLICE yesterday warned there may still be more letter bombs in the post — despite the “very significant” arrest of suspect Miles Cooper.
Officers pounced on the 26-year-old school caretaker at 3am after keeping him under surveillance for at least a week.
He was last night being held over a series of blasts that injured nine people across Britain in the last month. Cops intercepted at least one device.
The Sun can reveal other bombs were primed and ready to be sent to new targets when cops swooped on Cooper’s Cambridge home.
Back to the Times which leads on
Privacy row as checks on phones and e-mails hit 439,000
Almost 450,000 requests were made to monitor people’s telephone calls, e-mails and post by secret agencies and other authorised bodies in just over a year, the spying watchdog said yesterday.
In the first report of its kind from the Interceptions of Communications Commissioner, it was also revealed that nearly 4,000 errors were reported in a 15-month period from 2005 to 2006. While most appeared to concern “lower-level data” such as requests for telephone lists and individual e-mail addresses, 67 were mistakes concerning direct interception of communications.
Sir Swinton Thomas, the report’s author, described the figure as “unacceptably high”.
TAX SPIES TO INVADE YOUR LIFE leads the Express
COUNCIL tax snoopers want to know where you go on holiday, what you eat and even whether you use a dating agency.They will note if you have a pet and who you vote for.A list of 287 intimate details to be pored over by town hall spies includes how much you earn, and even whether you do the crossword.In an extraordinary expansion of Big Brother Britain, Labour will collect and store lifestyle information on households across the country as part of its council tax re-banding scheme.
The Mirror in an exclusive claims
EXCLUSIVE: NEW GUN LAW MAY BACKFIRE
GANGSTERS will increasingly open fire on police if gun-crime sentences are beefed up, experts have warned the Home Office.
They fear Wild West-style shoot-outs will break out because cornered offenders will not want years in jail for possessing a weapon.
Tony Blair has called for five-year minimum sentences for over-16s caught carrying guns. And the Government is today set to announce a nationwide firearms amnesty to be held later this year.
But the documents seen by the Mirror warn Home Secretary John Reid: "Longer sentences might bring about counter-productive outcomes. Offenders could try to shoot their way out, if challenged by the police."
The Independent reports on the devestating expolsion on board a train in India
Bomb attacks kill 66 on Friendship Express
The one detail all the witnesses remembered was the children screaming as they burned to death, trapped inside a railway carriage that was being engulfed by flames as their parents desperately tried to get them out, smashing the windows and trying to claw their way through the panicking crowd. Very few made it out alive.
At least 66 people died when bombs went off on the Friendship Express from India to Pakistan at about midnight, local time, on Sunday and many of them were women and children.
The Guardian speculates that
Analysts said it was likely the attack was orchestrated by militant Islamist groups, concerned that warmer ties between India and Pakistan may see the two cut a deal on the disputed territory of Kashmir without considering them.
Whilst it reports from the Middle East
Rice fails to make breakthrough in Middle East peace talks
Two hours of talks between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, yesterday failed to advance peace negotiations and produced only a vague promise of future meetings.
The talks, initially billed as a new US drive to restart the peace process, became deadlocked with Israel and the US repeating their conditions for a new Palestinian government before further progress.
The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and Ms Rice met at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. After the talks Ms Rice gave only a brief statement; there was no joint press conference. She said: "All three of us affirmed our commitment to a two-state solution, agreed that a Palestinian state cannot be born of violence and terror, and reiterated our acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the road map." Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas would meet again "soon".
The Sun reports on the lead story on BBC TV news last night
Bush's Iran 'attack plan'
GEORGE Bush will launch missiles against Iran if it is proved to be behind attacks on US soldiers in Iraq, it was claimed last night.
He has ordered plans for air strikes to disable Iran’s entire military structure, the BBC said.
Senior officials in Washington have pinpointed targets including missile bases, command and control centres and air defences.
Action would also be triggered if Tehran is close to developing nuclear weapons.
The Beeb claimed military action would be masterminded from Central Command in Florida.
Whilst the Telegraph reports
Bin Laden 'back in control' of terror blitz
Osama bin Laden has re-established control over a terrorist network along the Pakistan and Afghan border, according to US sources.
American security officials claim that bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, have rebuilt an operations hub in the mountainous Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan.
"The chain of command has been re-established," The New York Times reported one US government official as saying. The official added that the al-Qa'eda "leadership command and control is robust".
The Independent reports from the first day on the congestion charge extension
Congestion charge: Green lobby hails road-toll extension
The westward extension of London's £8 congestion charge yesterday was greeted with strong expressions of support and howls of protest in equal measure. Business leaders and residents in some of the richest urban areas in Britain attacked the decision by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, but green groups hailed it as a major step in the right direction.
And staying with road charging the Times reports
Make a start on road pricing or lose out on £1.4bn, councils told
The Government is attempting to “blackmail” local authorities into introducing congestion charging by refusing to fund public transport schemes unless they are linked to a new tax on motorists.
The Department for Transport has established a £1.4 billion fund for investment in local transport but has told councils that any bid for a share of the money must include congestion charging.
Local authority leaders have accused the Government of trying to force their hand and make them take the risk of a political backlash from drivers.
The Mirror leads with the story
RICHARD AND JUDY: OUR SHAME
RICHARD Madeley and Judy Finnigan last night made a grovelling apology on their TV show to viewers conned by the You Say, We Pay phone quiz.
The couple, who encouraged punters to call a £1 premium rate number AFTER the players had been chosen, promised refunds over the fiasco.
Judy told viewers: "Richard and I knew absolutely nothing about this. We were very shocked and also angry on your behalf. We're very sorry." Richard added: "Yes, a huge sorry. We promise we will sort it out ASAP."
He added: "A full investigation has been launched and we won't be running You Say We Pay for the time being. Once we know the full extent of the problem, we'll be making arrangements for any viewers affected to get their money back."
Finally the Indy reports that
Descendant of Franz Ferdinand demands return of ancestral castle
geat-granddaughter of the couple whose murder sparked the First World War hopes to force the Czech government to give back the family's ancestral castle.
Konopiste Castle is 45 minutes south-east of Prague, full of hunting trophies and armour, and set in nearly 15,000 acres of woodland. Today it is run by the Czech Ministry of Culture as a "national cultural historical monument". The castle was confiscated from the family of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1921 by the Czechoslovakian state along with all other Habsburg-owned properties, two years after the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
But Sophie de Potesta, also known as Her Serene Highness Sophie von Hohenberg, believes the confiscation and eviction was a mistake: its owners - her grandfather Maximilian, and his brother and sister - had been disinherited long before by their grandfather, Emperor Franz Joseph. By virtue of an 1899 decree, they were not Habsburgs. The castle, therefore, was no longer Habsburg property, and should have stayed in the Von Hohenberg family's hands.
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