Pressure is mounting on the Bank of England for an emergency interest rate cut this week as the severity of the global downturn wreaks more havoc.
Sharp stock-market falls in London, New York and the Far East last week are expected to persuade the US Federal Reserve to cut rates to just 1 per cent, perhaps as soon as tomorrow.
Central bankers announced coordinated rate cuts on October 8. Now the Bank of England and European Central Bank are also mulling over further decreases to reduce the impact of recession on households and businesses.
Gordon Brown vows to borrow and spend says the Telegraph
in a speech in London this morning, Mr Brown will say the Keynesian principle of increasing public spending and fast-tracking major construction projects to stimulate the economy is the right strategy to pursue.
He will tell a City audience: "We will and can allow borrowing to rise to help restore demand and to come to the aid of workers, businesses and homeowners. "We have already combined targeted support through the tax system - such as the temporary increase in stamp duty thresholds, the freeze in fuel duty and the £120 tax rebate for basic-rate taxpayers - with a commitment to maintain the necessary government investment to enable Britain to benefit from the upturn.
The Independent says that
Gordon Brown has raised the prospect of fresh international action to cut interest rates and stimulate the global economy. Mr Brown used an interview to hint that falling interest rates may lead to rate cuts by the Bank of England and central banks around the world, raising the prospect of another co-ordinated cut like this month's 0.5 point reduction to calm the financial crisis.
It leads though with the news that
The number of children born behind bars has almost doubled since Labour came to power, with new figures showing women prisoners currently giving birth at nearly four a week.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 283 children were born in prisons in England and Wales between April 2005 and July this year, an average of 1.7 a week. But 49 babies were born between April and the beginning of July this year alone, almost four a week, meaning the 2008 total could reach nearly 200 if births continue at the same rate, more than double the 64 prison births recorded in 1995-96 before Labour came to power.
Staying with prisons and the Guardian reports that
Jack Straw, the justice secretary, is to signal a more punitive approach to prisons today by attacking the "criminal justice lobby" for putting the needs of offenders before those of victims.
In a speech on prison policy to the Royal Society of Arts, he is to say it is time to reclaim the "unfashionable" language of punishment and reform and make clear that the justice system is there to serve victims and the law-abiding majority first.
Its main story is the news that Police will use new device to take fingerprints in street
Every police force in the UK is to be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners - handheld devices that allow police to carry out identity checks on people in the street.
The new technology, which ultimately may be able to receive pictures of suspects, is likely to be in widespread use within 18 months. Tens of thousands of sets - as compact as BlackBerry smartphones - are expected to be distributed.
Corfugate continues to be reported
Tell truth about oligarch links, Mandelson told says the Independent
Lord Mandelson's relationship with the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska came under fresh scrutiny yesterday after it was claimed the billionaire helped him enter Russia despite not having the correct paperwork.
The revelations prompted the Conservative Party to again ask the Business Secretary to give a full explanation of his dealings with Mr Deripaska. He also faced criticism over his relationship with a business lobby group while the EU's trade commissioner
The Times says that Mandelson should release diary, says EU
The length and nature of their relationship is central to questions over whether, as European Trade Commissioner, Lord Mandelson faced potential conflicts of interest when dealing with matters relating to Mr Deripaska’s interests. A decision to exempt his business from a tariff on aluminium foil, for example, was signed off by Mr Mandelson in December 2005.
Officials at the European Commission initially suggested that contact had been limited to “a few social gatherings in 2006 and 2007”. The briefing was reported to have been based on information supplied by the outgoing Trade Commissioner.
Meanwhile the Mail looks at the Riddle of the two missing hellraisers: Was George Osborne Bullingdon Club picture doctored - and why?
Dripping with privilege and arrogance, it is an image the Tories have been desperate to downplay.
Yet their embarrassment over the picture of George Osborne in a notorious Oxford University drinking club intensified yesterday.
Two ghostly figures appear to be lurking alongside the future Shadow Chancellor and his fellow members of the hellraising Bullingdon Club.
The paper leads with Dimming down: How the brainpower of today's 14-year-olds has slipped 'radically' in just one generation
Bright teenagers are a disappearing breed, an alarming new study has revealed.
The intellectual ability of the country's cleverest youngsters has declined radically, almost certainly due to the rise of TV and computer games and over-testing in schools. The 'high-level thinking' skills of 14-year-olds are now on a par with those of 12-year-olds in 1976.
The findings contradict national results which have shown a growth in top grades in SATs at 14, GCSEs and A-levels
According to the Telegraph
Hundreds of thousands of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers are offered new hope by a treatment which can stop the disease in its tracks.Patients would be given a simple monthly injection of the drug which halts the crippling effects of the condition.
An annual course of the drug, known as tocilizumab, could cost as little as £4,000 and may be available on the NHS as early as January
The Express leads with the story of how a purple tomatoe can reduce cancer
A NEW variety of tomato which could offer protection against cancer has been developed by British scientists.
The purple fruit could also keep you slim, ward off diabetes and help to safeguard your eyesight.
The team took genes from a snapdragon flower and inserted them into an ordinary tomato plant to create the ultimate healthy superfood.
The Independent reports on the ramifications of an event in the Lake District
'We have come within inches of turning Lake District into a morgue'
Runners told yesterday how they were forced to spend the night on a mountainside in driving rain and howling gales after horrendous weather forced the cancellation of Britain's toughest endurance event.
More than 1,700 competitors were stranded in the Lake District overnight after flash floods caused the Original Mountain Marathon to be cancelled, for the first time in its 41-year history. One woman suffered head injuries when she was washed into a swollen stream. She and six other people were rescued by helicopter and had to be treated for severe hypothermia.
The Times adds that
Last night it was being asked whether the Original Mountain Marathon should have gone ahead at the weekend despite the severe weather warnings. There were also concerns about who would pay for the rescue effort – the bill is expected to be tens of thousands of pounds
Heir strikes is the lead in the Sun
PRINCE Harry dreams of “riding the dragon” in the Army’s devastating helicopter gunship.
He aims to take to the skies in our toughest war machine so that he can make a dramatic return to action on the front line.
The Prince is in the process of trying to qualify for training as a pilot of an Apache attack helicopter
The Mail reports that
a woman holidaying in Italy was marched off her flight home to Britain minutes before take-off - for being 31 weeks pregnant.
Katharina Bishop was left standing on the runway with her husband and sobbing six-year-old son as airport staff removed their luggage from the hold.
An easyJet stewardess checking passengers' seatbelts moments before takeoff told Mrs Bishop that she had to produce a note written by a doctor in the past five days confirming her fitness to fly or get off the flight.
News from abroad and the Guardian reports
John McCain shrugged aside daunting poll figures yesterday to claim he was placed to win next week's presidential election even as an inquest was beginning inside the Republican party.
Interviewed on NBC's Meet the Press, McCain dismissed the polls that showed huge leads for Barack Obama and said he sensed the race tightening.
The Republican presidential nominee predicted a "late night" next Tuesday, suggesting the voting would be close enough to have to wait for the final counts in some states. "This has been a very close race, and I believe I will win it," he said
The Times reports that Israel to hold new elections
Israel faces fresh elections early next year after Tzipi Livni, the prime minister designate, abandoned her efforts to form a government, a development that threatens to put the Middle East peace process on ice.
The collapse of coalition talks sets the stage for a showdown between Ms Livni, a former Mossad agent who favours peace talks with the Palestinians, and Binyamin Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud party, who is opposed to recent peace initiatives
Hudson offers $100,000 reward for return of missing nephew reports the Telegraph
Actress Jennifer Hudson and her family are offering a $100,000 (£63,000) reward for the safe return of her missing 7-year-old nephew.Hudson's nephew, Julian King, has been missing since Friday, when her mother and brother were shot dead at the family's home on Chicago's South Side.
Hudson's publicist Lisa Kasteler issued a statement saying the actress and her family would offer the reward. The family asks that any information be given to the Chicago Police Department
Revelations on the front of the Mirror as
Fern Britton has told how the love and devotion of husband Phil Vickery pulled her back from the brink of suicide.
Fern’s cheery nature and warm smile have made her one of the UK’s most-loved TV stars.
But beneath the sunny exterior she was engulfed by waves of black depression that made her seriously consider taking her own life.
Fern said: “There were days I could hardly get out of bed. I was so seriously depressed I needed medication. It was very tough.
The Sun reveals that
A DRINK containing nicotine is being launched in Britain to help smokers beat the pub ban on cigarettes.
Liquid Smoking has proved a hit in the Netherlands, where it has been on sale for a year.
The tipple, with 15 per cent nicotine, also has an African herbal extract said to provide “a slight energising effect plus a euphoric sense of calming and relaxation”.
According to the Express
Plans for a "national day" first put forward by Gordon Brown as part of his bid to encourage the celebration of Britishness have been dropped by the Government, it has emerged.
The idea of a patriotic celebration similar to America's July 4 or Bastille Day in France was first promoted by Mr Brown as Chancellor in 2006, months after the 7/7 bombings.
And it was one of the key recommendations of a citizenship review he commissioned from former attorney general Lord Goldsmith when he became Prime Minister last year.
But Constitution Minister Michael Wills told MPs it was not now on the cards
Finally the Guardian says that Things really must be bad - AC/DC are No 1 again
First Gordon Brown and Mervyn King, the Bank of England's governor, admitted that Britain was on the verge of recession. Then food sales were reported to have seen their biggest fall for 20 years. Last night came final and irrevocable proof that the country is entering tough economic times, unseen since the 80s: AC/DC have returned to the top of the album charts for the first time in 28 years.
Even by the standards of a band whose commercial success is a given - the venerable Australian rockers have shifted more than 80m records since forming 35 years ago (in the midst of the 1973 oil crisis) - the circumstances of their 16th studio album's British success seem striking.
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