Newspaper headlines: Green's sacking 'personal blow' for PM By BBC News

Staff Published duration 21 December 2017

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Damian Green's departure dominates the front pages as the first secretary of state is sacked for making "inaccurate statements" relating to pornographic material found on his parliamentary computer.

Huffpost UK, however, claims it's a measure of Mrs May's current strength in the job that she can afford to sack the man who was her deputy in all but name. It says she will have wanted to make plain that no-one - not even a close ally and friend - gets any special favours.

Whereas a warning that her enemies will pounce on the sacking is carried by the Conservative Home website. It says questions will be asked over his reappointment to the cabinet after former prime minister David Cameron let him go.

'Catastrophic shambles'

The actions of the Metropolitan Police continue to be under scrutiny as up to 30 sex crime cases are under review amid claims crucial evidence had not been disclosed.

The Sun speaks of a "catastrophic shambles or worse". It says officers are either failing to review key evidence or, more seriously, they are sitting on it knowing that it destroys their prosecution.

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It says Republican leaders, who have had a strained relationship with the president, competed to heap praise on him.

It says the president's "extraordinary intervention" appears to be aimed largely at members of the UN General Assembly in Africa, Asia and Latin America who are regarded as particularly vulnerable to US pressure.

Salad 'boosts memory'

Several papers - including the 'i' and the Sun - highlight research that eating a portion of salad every day can help improve the memory of older people.

It describes how children were left in tears after the headmistress allegedly told the six to eight-year-olds that their performance had been "rubbish" and that they'd be getting bread and water at their Christmas party if they didn't improve.

Angry parents later gathered outside the school gates to confront the headteacher and the police were called. The school has denied that pupils were spoken to in an inappropriate way.