Newspaper headlines: David Cameron book claims examined, Hinkley concerns, NHS 'exodus', VW recall By Alex Kleiderman

BBC News Published duration 22 September 2015

Claims made in the new biography about David Cameron attract front page headlines in several papers.

It says the book Call Me Dave, co-authored by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, raises "hugely disturbing questions" about the prime minister's approach to military action.

Mr Cameron's defence strategy, including his intervention in Libya, is said to come under the spotlight. And there it is reported to reveal the US astonishment at the government's failure in 2013 to win a vote for military action against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

Other papers catch up on the earlier allegations.

image copyright PA/Reuters image caption Call Me Dave was penned by Lord Ashcroft and Isabel Oakeshott

The Guardian focuses on questions now being raised by Labour and the SNP over claims in the book that the prime minister misled the public before the 2010 election about his knowledge of former party donor Lord Ashcroft's non-domiciled tax status.

The Independent's Whitehall editor Oliver Wright sifts through the claims in Call Me Dave and ponders "what is true, what is speculation and how much is just an old political friend turned vehement foe".

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, James Kirkup agrees the extracts published to date raise more questions than they answer but says they would have been so much more damaging had Mr Cameron failed to secure a majority at the general election in May.

Eye-catching headlines

People smugglers using Facebook to sell fake Syrian passports to economic migrants - Thousands of fraudulent documents in circulation in Turkey and other migration routes into the EU - Daily Telegraph

Licensed to spill! Daniel Craig is booziest Bond - The current screen 007 enjoys an alcoholic tipple more than any of his predecessors, researchers find -Daily Mail

Advertising jingles more memorable than Bieber (and Mozart) - Cultural significance of TV commercials has been underestimated, survey suggests - Times

Sails of the century - The eight-deck White Pearl, a £260m superyacht featuring 100m high masts, makes its maiden voyage - Sun

Hinkley concerns

A planned £2bn investment by China in the UK's Hinkley Point C nuclear power station sparks debate.

The funding was announced by chancellor George Osborne on a visit to Beijing and is being guaranteed by the government.

image copyright EDF

The agreement also worries the Times , which says in its leader column that the government is "neglecting China's potential to disrupt national security".

"We must avoid sleepwalking into commercial dependency on Chinese companies that are quasi-state owned," adds the paper.

For the Guardian, smaller modular nuclear reactors could be the future . Hinkley C is "looking more and more like a bum deal," it says. "Overpriced, overcomplicated and overdue... In the past few years it has looked less and less like the next generation in clean energy."

Daily Express political commentator Ross Clark believes the Climate Change Act has resulted in Britain "embarking on a policy of reducing carbon emissions at any cost" resulting in "poor value for money projects" such as Hinkley.

The Sun, however, says pressure from the green lobby encouraged successive governments to stop planning properly for the future about 20 years ago and nuclear - as well as fracking is now the "smart option".

What the commentators say...

media caption Former Conservative MP and corporate advisor Angela Knight and the columnist for the Independent, John Rentoul, join the BBC News Channel to review Tuesday's front pages.

'Message to doctors'

image copyright PA

Figures reveal an unprecedented spike in NHS doctors registering to work overseas the day after the new contract was confirmed when their union, the British Medical Association, refused to return to negotiations, says the paper.

The numbers could surpass the 5,163 registrations in 2012, says the paper. Australia, New Zealand and Canada are said to be among the most popular destinations for British doctors.

The government and NHS Employers say their new contract will reward doctors who take on more responsibility and work the most unsocial hours, but the BMA contends many will find themselves worse off.

End of the road?

Volkswagen's admission to rigging emissions tests on some of its diesel engine vehicles in the US prompts speculation about the potential long-term impact.

image copyright Reuters

According to the Financial Times the allegations threaten to plunge the carmarker, which has initiated a US recall and saw its shares drop nearly 20% on Monday, into its "biggest crisis in a generation".

The FT adds: "As well as posing harsh questions of its governance, VW's alleged misconduct draws uncomfortable attention to the technological future of diesel."

In a leader column, the Telegraph says: "Much of this country's economy still runs on diesel. It is vital that we know as soon as possible whether this really is the end of the road."

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