Newspaper headlines: London Bridge victim's dad condemns 'agenda of hate' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 3 December 2019

Several of the front pages show pictures of a grieving Leanne O'Brien, whose boyfriend Jack Merritt, 25, died in the London Bridge attack.

The Sun describes the "emotional scenes" as she attended a vigil in Cambridge on Monday for Mr Merritt and Saskia Jones who were killed by Usman Khan.

"That such anguish was caused by a murderer in whom Jack and Saskia had seen hope", writes Bel Mooney in the Daily Mail, "made it all the more agonising to witness".

The Guardian devotes much of its front cover to an article by Mr Merritt's father, David, who criticises those who have jumped on the attack to reinforce the world view his son fought against.

"Jack would be seething at his death being used to perpetuate an agenda of hate," he says. "Focus on rehabilitation, not revenge."

image copyright Met Police image caption Jack Merritt was a co-ordinator of the Learning Together programme and Saskia Jones a volunteer

"Andrew's new TV humiliation" is the headline in the Daily Mail, which says the Duke of York is "on the rack again" after a BBC Panorama special on Monday night.

In the programme, his American accuser Virginia Giuffre recounted allegations that she was brought to the UK by the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein when she was 17 to have sex with Prince Andrew.

The Mail says there was "no smoking gun" in her account, but that Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, did enough to "reignite the whole sordid scandal".

The Guardian agrees that the prince is under "fresh pressure", while the Sun implores him to fly to the US "without delay" to be questioned by the FBI.

"Assuming Andrew is innocent," it says, "he should have no difficulty rebutting any claims." The prince has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

image caption Virginia Giuffre appeared on the BBC's Panorama for her first UK television interview on Monday

The Daily Telegraph says Labour is facing further questions about the source of classified documents it released last week, which the party said proved the NHS was "on the table" in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.

A report by independent researchers suggests the files were published online using methods similar to a Russian disinformation campaign earlier this year.

The paper says Labour has not revealed how it obtained the dossier, but the party insists that neither the British nor the American governments have denied its authenticity.

The EU's new financial services chief tells the Financial Times that the City of London could lose its access to the European market after Brexit - if the UK waters down regulations around banking and consumer protections.

The FT suggests the comments reflect a desire in Brussels to make sure that any post-Brexit trade deal creates a "level playing field that prevents either side chopping away at regulations to gain a competitive advantage".

Several papers including the Daily Telegraph report on a sexism row that's hit the Mr Men series of children's books.

In a recent release - Mr Men in Scotland - Mr Clever explains how the Forth Bridge got its name, prompting Little Miss Curious to ask what happened to the first, second and third bridges.

Mr Clever then sighs as the narrator suggests it's "going to be a very long day".

An academic at the University of Glasgow, Shelby Judge, said the quip was evidence of "mansplaining" and reinforced "ridiculous antiquated gender roles".

The publishers have played down her concerns, insisting the characters are simply getting up to their "usual antics".

Finally, the i reports that a Danish artist has won a legal battle to stop one of his paintings being cut into small pieces.

The owners of a designer watch company bought the artwork Paris Chic for £70,000 earlier this year, without revealing their plan to chop it up to decorate some of their timepieces.