Newspaper headlines: Tory 'funding crisis' and private school 'woe' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 11 May 2019

image copyright Getty Images image caption Oxford University said it is committed to broadening participation in higher education

The Daily Telegraph says it has discovered that MPs - including Energy minister Claire Perry - are boosting their expenses by claiming for adult children dependent on them.

According to the paper, the age limit when claiming for children is 18, rising to 21 for certain exceptions.

Ms Perry says all her claims are made in accordance with the rules; two other MPs have told the Telegraph they will return money.

The paper's leader column says the rules may have changed in the wake of the expenses scandal 10 years ago - but it is clearly going to take a long time to remake the culture in Westminster.

It concludes by advising politicians to listen to the words of Lord Tebbit - "If you wouldn't be happy to read something about yourself on the front pages, don't do it."

A leading head teacher has told the Times that many parents of privately educated children are worried about efforts by Oxford and Cambridge universities to increase the number of state pupils they accept.

The head of Stowe School, Anthony Wallersteiner, says concerns have been raised about "social engineering" and "positive discrimination".

The paper says heads of other independent schools have admitted that their marginal candidates are less likely to receive an offer from Oxbridge than in previous years - but good students are as successful as ever.

Cambridge told the Times it is committed to facilitating social mobility; Oxford says it is committed to broadening participation in higher education.

A radical gene therapy - aimed at slashing the risk of heart attack - is highlighted by the Guardian , which says researchers in the US hope to trial the treatment within the next three years.

If the one-off injection proves safe and effective when given to people who are prone to heart attacks in their 30s and 40s, doctors will seek approval to offer it more widely.

The paper says the researchers hope the therapy will not only transform the impact of heart disease on people's lives, but also reduce the costs of caring for patients.

A £200,000 donation to Nigel Farage's Brexit Party - by one of the Conservatives' most prominent financial backers - is widely reported.

According to the i weekend, funding for the Tories has "dried up so badly" that the party is struggling to pay the rent on its headquarters in Westminster.

A number of papers assess what the Daily Mirror describes as the "tragic end" for Freddie Starr, who has died aged 76.

The Sun says the comedian spent his final days singing in Spanish karaoke bars, after being left "broken" by a police investigation into sex abuse allegations - although he was never charged.

According to the Daily Express, one of the most famous faces on TV during the 1970s and 80s became "a chronically-ill virtual recluse".

A warning that Britain's knife crime epidemic is "crippling hospitals" and forcing all patients to suffer" is featured on the front page of the Daily Mail.

It says the NHS's leading trauma surgeon, Prof Chris Moran, claims spiralling violence is having a "ripple effect" across the health service, resulting in longer ambulance waits and the cancellation of routine operations.

He says paediatric trauma teams used to treat children who were knocked down by cars or ice cream vans - but now when a child is brought in after school, it's because they have been stabbed.

The lead story in the Daily Express says rape victims could face prosecution, if police find evidence of criminal offences on their mobile phones.

The Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, Lady Newlove, has told the paper the threat is "like blackmail" - following last month's warning that victims could see their cases dropped if they refuse to allow police access to information including emails, text messages and photographs.

The Express agrees - arguing it is "wrong" that victims of a terrible assault can themselves be arrested.

"Britain's record on dealing with rape is woeful," it says, "and the way it is investigated must be improved to support the victims".