Newspaper headlines: European alert as Berlin market truck killer on the run By BBC News

Staff Published duration 21 December 2016

image copyright Reuters

The search for the driver of the lorry which smashed through a Christmas market in Germany is the main story for most of the papers.

The Times names an Italian woman, thought to be one of his victims - and her face smiles out from its front page. Fabrizia Di Lorenzo, who was 31, worked in Berlin and has been missing since the attack. Her mobile phone was found at the scene.

The Daily Mail says her mother and brother have travelled to Berlin to provide DNA samples as police try to identify the dead. Her father says he's given up hope of seeing his daughter again.

Declaring a state of war or emergency would create expectations of a "definite victory" that will "never come". Equally unwise would be "symbolic restrictions to liberty", it says.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail also has been reading what it calls a "horrifying four-page murder manual" published by the so-called Islamic State group last month, which tells the group's followers how to use a lorry in a terror attack.

It says markets, festivals, parades and political rallies are suggested as targets. Jihadists are told to choose a large load-bearing vehicle and are advised how to cause maximum casualties.

Some papers report on measures to protect the UK from terrorism.

The Daily Mail's front page picture shows two armed police officers on guard with large assault rifles, incongruous in front of a colourful nativity scene at Canterbury Cathedral.

Turning to other stories, the Times Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail report that voters will have to show a passport, driving licence or other proof of identity before they can cast their ballots under a new scheme to tackle electoral fraud.

They say the idea will be tried out in pilot schemes which will be announced by the Cabinet Office in the New Year.

It was one of several recommendations in a report on the problem by the anti-corruption tsar, Sir Eric Pickles. He said it was ridiculous than it was "harder to take out a council library book than to pick up a council ballot paper".

The Daily Express, which also reports on the meeting , says Theresa May won't bow to pressure for emergency legislation to crack down on strikes.

After the riot at Birmingham jail, the Financial Times highlights a new government-backed scheme aimed at attracting top graduates into the prison service which will invite applications from next month.

image copyright PA

Recruits will complete a master's degree over two years while working in prisons under the guidance of experienced officers.

But, the paper says, it's not a job for the faint-hearted.

The charity, Unlocked, which will run the programme, says applicants should have an "SAS-style mindset" to deal with the challenges of "one of the toughest careers in the public sector".

It is predicting "click-and-collect chaos" and reveals that John Lewis and Waitrose are to stop taking online click-and-collect orders tomorrow - a day earlier than usual - to prevent stores becoming overwhelmed.

Other retailers also say the service, which allows shoppers to order something online and then pick it up in a store, is more popular than ever this year.

And shampoo sales are plummeting, according to The Times , which says the value of the market has fallen by £23m.

Analysts say people don't feel the need to wash their hair so often because of smoking bans, so their hair doesn't smell, and the trend for working from home.