The end of new Labour says the Telegraph

An abdication and a coronation says the Times.

Yesterday saw the announcement that the Prime Minister is to step down on 27th June.

Labour set the stage for a new era under Gordon Brown yesterday by unceremoniously dumping Tony Blair's "New Labour" brand within minutes of the Prime Minister delivering an emotional and stage-managed resignation statement. says the Telegraph continuing

the "New Labour, New Britain" logo - the defining symbol of his leadership - was removed from the party's website and replaced with plain "Labour" and the red rose symbol.
The move emphasised the determination of senior Labour figures to regain hundreds of thousands of traditional supporters who have come to associate New Labour with a betrayal of the party's values. Mr Blair launched the name at his first conference as leader in 1994 at the start of a relentless programme of modernisation.

The Times says that

Declaring, “hand on heart, I did what I thought was right”, Tony Blair finally paved the way for a Gordon Brown premiership yesterday by announcing that he would leave Downing Street on June 27.

Admitting that expectations had not always been realised and apologising “for the times I have fallen short”, Mr Blair was close to tears at the end of the speech in his Sedgefield constituency in which he announced his plan to tender his resignation to the Queen.

The Guardian echoes his final speach

'I did what I thought was right'

Mr Blair announced the handover date in a conciliatory, confessional, almost humble speech in his Durham constituency, in which he apologised for when he had fallen short, but insisted "hand on heart" that he had always done what he had thought was right for the country. His aides say he recognises "in his own head" that it is time after 10 years in power to leave the British political stage.

The Independent's front page states

The Legacy: Tony Blair, Prime Minister, 1997-2007 with the word Iraq across the paper

Tony Blair has apologised for his mistakes and admitted that his legacy in the eyes of many people will be dominated by Iraq when he stands down as Prime Minister on 27 June.
In an emotional and highly personal speech, Mr Blair insisted that he had done what he believed was "right for my country" and stopped short of saying sorry for the Iraq war.
But he struck his most conciliatory tone over Iraq, admitting the fierce "blowback" of global terrorism and conceding he would leave office with many Britons believing the Iraq invasion was wrong.
Loyal Blairites launched a campaign to pin the blame for the mistakes made after the conflict on the Bush administration, which rejected Britain's advice by abolishing the Iraqi army after Saddam Hussein was toppled. Alastair Campbell, the former Downing Street communications director, and Baroness Morgan of Huyton, the former director of government relations, both criticised Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, for the post-war decisions.

I have had enough and so have you says the Mirror

Mr Blair joked: "I have been Prime Minister for 10 years. That is long enough for me - but more especially for the country."
As President Bush and Gordon Brown led world tributes, Mr Blair said farewell in his Sedgefield constituency.
Talking to 250 emotional supporters, he reeled off his government's achievements - more jobs, better schools and hospitals, less crime, peace in Northern Ireland.
But he also spoke candidly of his controversial decision to embroil Britain in the Iraq war. He said: "I ask you to accept one thing - hand on heart. I did what I thought was right." He admitted that expectations had been "too high" when he walked into Downing Street on a tide of euphoria in 1997.

Goodbye and Good Luck says the Mail which speculates

The Prime Minister's announcement cleared the way for the Government machine to begin working directly for the Chancellor as he prepares to take office. A plan drawn up by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell maps out how the "stable and orderly transition" promised by Mr Blair will work over the next 47 days.
The Daily Mail has learned that Mr Brown will put civil servants in charge of his Downing Street operation after a decade of Labour apparatchiks running the show.

Kising you already says the Sun

To be frank, I would not have wanted it any other way. I was, and remain, as a person and as a Prime Minister an optimist.
“Politics may be the art of the possible. But at least in life, give the impossible a go.
“I ask you to accept one thing. Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right.
“I may have been wrong, that’s your call. But believe one thing, if nothing else — I did what I thought was right for our country.”

Of the main papers only the Express doesnt feature the Pm on its front page prefering to tell us of

MORTGAGE MISERY AS LOAN RATES RISE AGAIN

HOMEOWNERS are under even more pressure tonight after the Bank of England hiked interest rates for the fourth time in 10 months.
On the same day Tony Blair announced his resignation citing his successful management of the economy, the cost of borrowing increased from 5.25% to 5.5% - its highest level since April 2001 - after inflation moved further away from its 2% target with a surprise figure of 3.1% in March.

The FT reminding us that

Thursday’s quarter-point rise to 5.5% makes UK rates the highest in the G7,

Rate rise misery for homeowners says the Telegraph

The increase is likely to add £16 a month to the average mortgage bill for households with a typical £100,000 mortgage, which experts said could lead to a rise in home repossessions and insolvencies.

The Guardian reports from Portugal where

Police chase new leads as resort search for girl ended

Portuguese police investigating the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann are ready to call off their search around Praia da Luz, the Algarve resort where she vanished.
Eight days after she was apparently kidnapped from the bedroom of her parents' holiday apartment, investigators said last night the trail had gone cold in the town and surrounding area.
"All the places have been checked. The results are zero," said Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, who is leading the investigation. The search of the town and more than 200 square kilometres of surrounding countryside would therefore be ended, he said at a press conference last night.

Cops launch hunt for three Brits says the Sun

THE parents of Madeleine McCann were dramatically whisked to a police station yesterday — as it emerged CCTV footage showed a little girl with THREE adults, thought to be Brits.
Portuguese cops were understood to be showing Kate and Gerry McCann images of a child similar to Maddie with a blonde woman and two men.
The CCTV film came from a Galp petrol station on the motorway just outside Praia da Luz, the Algarve resort where Maddie, three, was abducted last Thursday

The Times reports that

After 42 years, trooper faces trial for killing that sparked bloody civil rights protests

A 73-year-old former state trooper was indicted yesterday for the 1965 shooting of an Alabama black man, the latest case in an extraordinary reckoning sweeping the Deep South for some of the civil rights era’s worst atrocities.
James Bonard Fowler, who turned himself in last night, was indicted for shooting Jimmie Lee Jackson in Marion, Alabama — a killing that triggered the historic civil rights marches from Selma to Montgomery that led directly to voting rights for black Americans
Mr Fowler has always maintained he shot Jackson, 26, in self-defence and has never been charged. But his indictment, believed to be for murder, was handed down by a grand jury after the case was reopened by Michael Jackson (no relation), who was elected the area’s first black district attorney in 2004.

According to the Guardian

Cost of national ID card scheme soars by £840m in six months

The official cost of the controversial national identity card scheme has soared in the past six months by £840m, according to Home Office figures published yesterday. It means the total cost of the project is now £5.75bn.
But the latest six-monthly estimate makes it clear that even this figure is far from likely to be the final bill, since it excludes the costs of the ID card scheme to government departments outside the Home Office.

Republicans warn Bush he risks being deserted says the Telegraph

A "sobered" George W Bush was told by Republican allies yesterday that his party would desert him if the situation in Iraq did not improve dramatically and he continued to keep troops there

For a White House where bad news is often branded as defeatism, the 90-minute meeting with 11 centrist Republicans was remarkably blunt as they told him that there had to be discernable progress by September

Most of the papers carry the story that

Sting's wife guilty of treating cook 'shamefully'

The Indy reports that

The saintly image of the rock star Sting and his wife Trudie Styler was left badly tarnished yesterday after an employment tribunal found that they had sexually discriminated against their pregnant cook.
In a damning judgment following a unanimous verdict, the tribunal described Ms Styler's treatment of Jane Martin as "shameful". Ms Martin was sacked after becoming pregnant after eight years of service to the couple, who are high-profile champions of human rights and ecological causes.
The 41-year-old cook was unlawfully dismissed from her £28,000-a-year job by the couple's management company, Lake House Estate, the Southampton tribunal found. In passing judgment, the panel singled out Ms Styler, referred to under her married name of Sumner, for extraordinary personal criticism. It accused the actress of manipulating staff and then failing to take responsibility for her actions.

NOT STINGY
Chef's £450 trip just to make soup says the Mirror

STING and his wife Trudie Styler spent £500,000 a year on running their lavish kitchen entertaining celebrities including Madonna and Sir Elton John.
Details of their huge catering bills were revealed as an employment tribunal ruled that they broke the law by sacking cook Jane Martin, 41, because she was pregnant

The Mail reports on the

Woman runs for her life after satnav leads her into path of a train

A Motorist leapt clear of her car with moments to spare after a satellite-navigation system led her into the path of a speeding train.
Paula Ceely watched in horror as the locomotive ploughed into her Renault Clio at over 60mph, then shunted the car half a mile down the track.
Recalling her lucky escape yesterday, the 20-year-old vowed never to rely on satnav instructions again.

Finally back to the main story and the Sun reports

Whoops! Gord PM already

GORDON Brown was last night hailed as Prime Minister — in a mistake by Commons Speaker Michael Martin.
The Chancellor was accidentally crowned Premier seven weeks before he actually gets the job.
The slip-up came during a debate on funding when Mr Martin rebuffed the Chancellor for straying off the subject.
To roars and cheers from MPs the Speaker said: “I must say gently to the Prime Minister...”
As the laughs died down Mr Martin joked: “I’m getting into practice.”