The Guardian leads this morning with the news that

Police halt inquiry into disgraced MP

Derek Conway, the disgraced former Conservative MP, will escape a police investigation into his conduct after the Crown Prosecution Service ruled that gaping holes in the records of MPs' expenses would make bringing charges impossible.
In a move that will intensify the pressure on MPs to tighten their system of expenses and office allowances, Scotland Yard announced last night it would not be "appropriate" to launch an investigation into Conway after being advised by the CPS that "the lack of systems in this case to account for MPs' expenses would severely undermine the viability of any criminal investigation leading to a prosecution".

But it's the world's financial troubles which concern many of the papers,the Independent reports that

High street banks ask for extra cash

The bosses of Britain's biggest banks asked for extra financial support from the Bank of England yesterday, amid deepening gloom in the City. Senior executives from the five largest retail banks – Barclays, HBOS, HSBC, LloydsTSB and Royal Bank of Scotland – met Mervyn King, the Bank's Governor, to urge him to do more to help them through the credit crisis.

The Times reports that

Building societies withdraw mortgage offers as credit crunch bites

Building societies began turning borrowers away yesterday. A series of small societies, including Bath Building Society and Earl Shilton Building Society, withdrew all their home loan offers after it became impossible to secure funding for lending.
The sudden exodus shows that the turmoil in the credit markets is trickling down to building societies, many of which rely on interbank lending for as much as 30 per cent of their funds

The mortgage famine: £30bn funding gap will deny thousands a home loan says the Mail

Of the £90billion of mortgages wanted this year, only about £60billion can be funded from savings deposited with the lenders.
This leaves a crucial £30billion gap, which is the equivalent of nearly 200,000 people not being able to take out the current average £155,000 loan.
The council urged the Bank of England to do everything it can to resolve the crisis

The Telegrah meanwhile tells us of

the dirty tricks of rogue traders accoding to the paper

A hedge fund based in London set up a "dirty-tricks unit" to manipulate share prices and get illicit information on companies in an attempt to make millions on the stock market, an insider has revealed.As the official hunt began for the rogue traders who tried to bring down Britain's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS, The Daily Telegraph can reveal a whistle-blower's account of how a multi-billion pound fund allegedly used illegal tactics to drive down stock prices.

The Mirror reports that

Bank Credit Suisse sacks rogue dealers over £1.4bn loss cover-up

A top bank fired several rogue traders after discovering a £1.4billion hole in its finances.Other workers at Credit Suisse were suspended after the dodgy dealings came to light.
Reports suggest staff tried to cover up the scale of their losses to ensure they pocketed hefty bonuses. Bosses warned last night that the scandal meant the Swiss investment bank was unlikely to make a profit for the first three months of this year.

And staying with financial matters the Express' front page tells of a

Petrol Price outrage


Both the Times and the Indpendent lead with Tibet,the Independent reporting

Dalai Lama: 'I am prepared to face China. I will go to Beijing'

Having watched helplessly from exile as his Tibetan homeland has suffered under Chinese rule, the man regarded as a living god by millions of his followers said yesterday that he was ready to negotiate personally with the Chinese leadership. The Dalai Lama, 73, acknowledged the difficulty associated with a face-to-face summit, but said he was even ready to meet President Hu Jintao, notorious in Tibet for his hardline approach when he served as Tibet's local Communist leader. "I am always ready to meet the Chinese leaders, and particularly Hu Jintao. I am very happy to meet," he told a small group of journalists at his office in Dharamsala. "But as I mentioned earlier, to go to Beijing and meet leaders... that would be big news. Many Tibetans would think... may develop some unrealistic expectations. I have to think very carefully."

whilst the former tells us

China's action in Tibet threatens Olympic torch run in London

A massive security operation is under way to protect the Olympic torch from anti-China protesters when it arrives in London next month as part of its round-the-world journey to Beijing.
Security experts fear that the capital will be the first flashpoint for Free Tibet demonstrations along the torch’s 130-day global tour organised by China to promote the Games in August.
A security adviser to the Chinese Government has given warning that London’s chances of staging its own torch tour in the run-up to 2012 could be jeopardised if Beijing’s relay is hijacked by politics.

The Times reports

Obama outrage over State Department files intrusion

Barack Obama's confidential passport file has been secretly looked at by three US government officials in recent months, the Bush administration said yesterday, with two of the workers involved fired.
A spokesman for Mr Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, demanded a full investigation to discover exactly who looked at the Illinois senator's passport file and why.
"This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years," said Bill Burton, a senior Obama spokesman, in a statement.

The Guardian reporting that

Two contract employees of the State Department were fired and a third person was disciplined for inappropriately accessing the passport file of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, it emerged last night.
According to NBC news the three people who had access to Obama's passport records were contract employees of the department's Bureau of Consular Affairs.
The unauthorised activity concerning Obama's passport information occurred on three separate occasions on January 9, February 21 and March 14, triggering alarms in each case.

Meanwhile the Republican candidate was in London

McCain praises British troops in Iraq says the Telegraph

Speaking following talks in Downing Street with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mr McCain praised the "long service and sacrifice" of the British forces in the two countries.But while he is strongly committed to the US operation in Iraq, he said it was a matter for the British Government how long the UK maintained troops there.
"I believe that that decision is made by the British Government and people," he said.

After sitting at Gordon Brown's side in the Cabinet Room yesterday, John McCain went to the House of Commons, where a gaggle of onlookers shouted, "It's the next president of the United States!" as he was greeted by David Cameron and a line of honour of senior Tories, including William Hague, George Osborne and Liam Fox.
The 71-year-old Arizona senator joked with Mr Brown about his exhausting schedule during a whirlwind visit to Iraq and Europe. But he had a spring in his step as he emerged from 10 Downing Street and headed for the television cameras. For the folks back home, he wanted to be interviewed in front of that famous front door.

says the Independent

John McCain speaks to the Sun

PRINCE Harry won praise last night for serving in Afghanistan – from US Presidential hopeful John McCain.
Republican Senator McCain spoke of the “pride” he felt in Harry for taking on the Taliban.
His own son has just returned from a tour of Iraq with the US Marine Corps.
And Senator McCain, 71, declared Harry and brother Prince William were “inspirations” and “role models

The Mirror's front page meanwhile follows theTory leader on his bike

We've long known he hasn't a clue which way to take his party, but it seems David Cameron can't even point his bike in the right direction...
The Tory boss was spotted flouting the law by cycling the wrong way in a one-way street, through red lights and the wrong side of a bollard on his 30-minute trip to work.
Hapless Cameron was breaking the rules within minutes of leaving his Notting Hill home in West London for Westminster.
He sailed past a large red no entry sign even Mr Magoo would have noticed. Another clue was the huge arrows on the road pointing which way traffic should go.

Good Friday gambling angers churches reports the Telegraph

High street betting shops will open today for the first time on a Good Friday, prompting criticism from religious groups.The long-standing ban on betting during one of Christianity's holiest days was abolished by the Government last year as part of reforms to the gambling laws

.

And it's not going to be happy Easter,the Mail reporting

Heavy traffic looked set to worsen today as Britain braced itself for a White Easter.
The country's main roads struggled to cope with the getaway rush last night, but motoring experts said today was likely to see the worst Easter traffic ever.

Or the Express which reports

A White Out

Blizzards will blast Britain as a vicious cold snap sends temperatures plummeting to -8C (17.6F) bringing in the coldest Easter on record, weather experts warned.
Areas of higher ground could see up to four inches of snow, while widespread areas across the East and Central England should expect up to two inches.

Probably not a good easter for Heather Mills,the front page of the Sun headlining

Where there's Mucca there's first class

HIGH-LIVING Heather Mills was exposed as a hypocrite last night — for failing to buy first-class flights for daughter Beatrice.
Mucca slammed ex Sir Paul McCartney on Monday for forcing the four-year-old to travel “B Class” after their bitter divorce — while he flew “A Class”.
She haughtily vowed to pay for Beatrice’s first-class travel herself.

Or for Corrie star Kim Ryder as the front page of the Mirror reports

Soap stars Kym and Jack Ryder have vowed to remain friends after the break-up of their six-year marriage.
In a statement yesterday, the Coronation Street actress and the former Eastender insisted that no one else was involved in the split.
Friends said they had decided to separate after growing apart.
The statement said: "With great sadness, Kym and Jack Ryder have decided to separate after six years together.

The Sun follows up its lead story from yesterday,

Make yourself at home you monster

EVIL Raymond Horne last night settled in to his cushy new life in Britain — funded by hard-up taxpayers.
The 61-year-old fiend — dumped on us by Australia — will enjoy a free home, protection and benefits.
But police security and surveillance of him will cost taxpayers as much as £100,000 a year.

Paedophile who's lived in Australia all his life skulks into Britain ... but the Gurkha seeking treatment for Falklands War wounds is BARRED says the Mail

The papers report that

Summer Wine's 'Foggy' dies aged 80

Brian Wilde, the actor who played Foggy in the TV series Last of the Summer Wine and the long-suffering prison officer Barraclough in Porridge, has died aged 80.
He died in his sleep at a Hertfordshire nursing home yesterday after suffering a fall seven weeks ago. Wilde was born in Lancashire in June 1927. "He will be sadly missed by colleagues and family alike. He brought a great deal of laughter into many people's lives," said his agent, Nick Young.

says the Guardian

and on another actor death

Paul Scofield, towering actor, dies at 86,the Telegraph reporting

Tributes were paid to the stage and screen actor Paul Scofield yesterday, who has died aged 86. One of the finest classical actors of his generation, he won an Oscar and a Bafta for his role as Sir Thomas More in the 1966 film of A Man for All Seasons. He also appeared in the stage version. Other milestones in his theatrical career included the title role in Ben Jonson's Volpone at the National Theatre in 1977 and playing Antonio Salieri in the original production of Amadeus. In 2004, a poll of actors of the RSC acclaimed his appearance as King Lear the greatest Shakespearean performance ever. Scofield, who refused a knighthood on at least two occasions, had been suffering from leukaemia and died peacefully in a hospital near his home in Sussex on Wednesday.

Finally the Guardian reports

At Downing Street upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't Blair. He wasn't Blair again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away...

They seek him here, they seek him there; those Brownites seek him everywhere. Is he in cabinet or is he in hell, that damned scribbler of doggerel?

That, at any rate, is the question gripping the Westminster village, where the hunt is afoot for an anonymous poet, believed to be a senior minister, who has penned some decidedly off-message verse about Gordon Brown. And while the lines - "At Downing Street/ Upon the stair/ I met a man who wasn't Blair/ He wasn't Blair again today/ Oh how I wish he'd go away" - do not threaten Andrew Marvell's position as parliament's pre-eminent poet, they have become the talk of the House of Commons tea rooms, Fleet Street and the blogosphere.