The face of Sir Ian Blair stares out from most of the front pages this morning

Sir Ian Blair was forced to resign as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police yesterday in a swift political coup at the top of Scotland Yard.
Boris Johnson, the Conservative Mayor of London, asked Sir Ian to go, hours after taking control of London’s police authority. It is understood that he threatened Mr Blair with non-co-operation if he did not quit

. says the Times

The Guardian describes it as a Tory plot that forced out Met chief Blair

In a dramatic showdown between the two, the mayor of London made it clear that Blair had to quit his post as Metropolitan police commissioner. Friends of Blair said last night that when the commissioner suggested he should stay until a replacement had been found, he was told: "We don't want a successor appointed. We will have an acting arrangement until a Conservative home secretary arrives

Boris knifes police chief says the Independent

Boris Johnson was accused of carrying out a putsch against Sir Ian Blair, who was forced to resign after being told he no longer had the confidence of the Mayor. Furious Labour ministers privately accused Mr Johnson of turning the post – which is appointed by the Home Secretary and includes leading the nationwide fight against terrorism – into a "political football". They said that Sir Ian's resignation would usher in a new era of politicised police officers.

The Mail though is less sympathetic and asks why it took him so long reminding everybody that it

had revealed yesterday that Sir Ian had used public money to pay a close friend a five-figure sum for an image make-over.
The extraordinary deal was unearthed in an official investigation into Sir Ian's dealings with a firm run by Andy Miller, his friend of 30 years.
For his numerous enemies, it was the last straw for the policeman once dubbed 'New Labour's Favourite Cop'.
He becomes the first chief of Scotland Yard to resign for professional reasons since the days of Jack the Ripper in the 1880s.

Boris fires buggling Blair says the Sun

BORIS Johnson showed gaffe-prone Met chief Sir Ian Blair who was boss yesterday — by forcing him to quit.
London’s mayor struck the moment he assumed control of the Metropolitan Police Authority, the force’s board of governors.
And his action ended a turbulent three years in which calls for Sir Ian’s head kept mounting amid a string of blunders and allegations of incompetence and cronyism.

The VP debate came too late for the papers but the Telegraph reports that Barack Obama is 'aloof' says British ambassador to US

Sir Nigel Sheinwald, ambassador in Washington since last year, delivered his unvarnished assessment of the White House front runner in a seven-page letter to the Prime Minister, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, just before the Democratic nominee's visit to Downing Street just over two months ago.
The candid letter, marked as containing "sensitive judgements" and requesting officials to "protect the contents carefully" gives a remarkable insight into how the Foreign Office views the political phenomenon who stunned Mr Brown's inner circle by defeating their favourite, Hillary Clinton, in the Democratic primaries.

There is much specualtion about a cabinet reshuffle,the Times says that

Alistair Darling and David Miliband are to stay in their jobs as Gordon Brown leaves the top half of his Cabinet intact in a reshuffle today.
Liam Byrne, the Immigration Minister, is tipped to enter the Cabinet after only four years as an MP, the big winner in changes forced by the resignation of Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary. But the Cabinet’s “big six” are likely to stay where they are after Mr Brown decided just over two weeks ago to put off a more far-reaching shake-up — intended to be the last before a general election — until the new year.

Brown to set up economic crisis team in reshuffle says the Independent

Gordon Brown will create a powerful group of ministers and officials to lead the Government's response to the global financial crisis as part of a cabinet reshuffle to be announced today.
Ed Miliband, the Cabinet Office minister and a close Brown ally, is being considered for a key role on the new economic crisis committee.

Cruddas tipped for minister job in shuffle says the Guardian

Yesterday names tipped for promotion circulated in Westminster, with former No 10 adviser and deputy leadership candidate Cruddas suggested for elevation from the backbenches to the government, possibly to the housing portfolio in the Department of Communities and Local Government.

The banking crisis is not far away from the headlines

Bank warns of rising loan defaults as house prices fall reports the same paper

The Bank of England warned yesterday of rising defaults on loans amid signs that a worsening credit crunch is prompting sharp falls in house prices and a squeeze on consumer spending power.
In a quarterly health check of credit conditions conducted before the recent market turmoil, Threadneedle Street said lenders had reduced the availability of credit by more than had been expected and anticipated an even tougher environment in the next three months.

Slash rates now or face Christmas recession says the Mail

The Bank of England is facing demands to deliver an emergency half-point cut in interest rates to try to head off a full-blown recession before Christmas.
Calls for action intensified yesterday after an official study revealed banks have dramatically cut back their lending to consumers and business.
However, the Bank has little room for rate reductions following warnings from the highly respected International Monetary Fund that the menace of inflation is still hanging over the economy.

The Sun turns to knife crime on its front page,showing a picture of a

A SCHOOLBOY brandishes a potentially lethal knife — which came attached to a JACKET on sale at chain store T.K. Maxx.
Any teenager who bought one of the trendy hooded coats would be instantly “tooled up” with a 2½in blade.
Astonishingly, T.K. Maxx sold the Swiss-made jackets a year after one of its shop girls, Rina Panchal, 26, was stabbed to death at work.

Most of the papers report that

'Body parts' found in wreckage of Steve Fossett's plane

The finds are likely to discredit lurid rumours spiralling across the internet that the billionaire adventurer faked his own death in last September's crash.
Federal investigators from the national transport safety board said they had identified "a very small" amount of remains - but judged it was enough to provide DNA to coroners.
The board's acting chairman would not say exactly which parts had been found, while maintaining it was not surprising so little remained more than a year since the accident.

says the Telegraph

Hundreds of plant species are in danger as Kew seed bank faces £100m shortfall reports the Times

The Millennium Seed Bank is facing a funding shortfall that could force it to halt operations.
Scientists at the seed bank need to raise more than £100 million in little more than a year to safeguard the facility’s future. Failure to secure the money would put the survival of hundreds of species of plant at risk and damage Britain’s credibility as a centre of scientific excellence.

The Express tells us that GURKHAS STILL NEED YOUR HELP

Actress Joanna Lumley and the Daily Express yesterday united in a crusade to win justice for our Gurkha soldiers.
The Absolutely Fabulous star issued a rallying cry to the British people to ensure a law is passed giving veterans the right to settle here.
Joanna stood alongside the loyal fighters from Nepal earlier this week when they won a long-running battle at the High Court in London.

According to the Telegraph Millions more people 'need to have flu jab according to the Government's director of immunisation

Ahead of the influenza season, Prof David Salisbury said less than half of those under the age of 65 who were at risk of serious complications if they contract flu were actually getting vaccinated.

BBC's dilemma over who would announce a nuclear attack reports the Independent

secret documents released today, revealing for the first time the full text of the warning to be broadcast by the BBC in the event of a nuclear war, show that Whitehall was obsessed as much with the voice that would be used to announce Armageddon as it was with protecting what was left of the British population.