Newspaper headlines: 'Playing politics' with knife crime By BBC News

Staff Published duration 8 March 2019

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For many papers, knife crime continues to be the focus of attention. The Metro accuses the chancellor of playing politics, as Thursday saw another teenager being stabbed . It criticises Philip Hammond for saying that cash set aside for a no-deal Brexit could be used to deal with the issue - but only if MPs back Mrs May's deal.

The Daily Telegraph says the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been accused of "passing the buck" on knife crime - by blaming Conservative policies - even though he is responsible for policing in the city.

The headline in the Daily Express is 'Straight to Jail for Knife Thugs'. It reports that the Chief Constable of Merseyside police, Andy Cooke, is calling for criminals caught carrying knives to be sent to jail immediately, with harsh sentences. He tells the paper that judges need to be sentencing at the higher end of guidelines "on each and every occasion".

With the next Brexit votes just days away, the Guardian says Theresa May is to make a last-ditch attempt to persuade the European Union to give her a better deal . It claims she will plead with EU leaders to offer further concessions. But it predicts that Tory Eurosceptic MPs are set to vote down her deal for a second time next week.

The paper quotes a former Conservative cabinet minister, who describes the current situation as "like the last days of Rome" - saying it's difficult to see how Mrs May can survive many more weeks.

The Times says the prime minister is being warned by ministers who backed Remain that she will lose control of Brexit next week - unless she holds a series of what it calls "humiliating votes" on alternatives to her deal, if it's defeated again. It claims she's preparing to shift the blame on to the EU if the vote is lost.

The Times adds that Downing Street is already preparing the ground for defeat, with Mrs May all but conceding that she will have to allow MPs a free vote on a no-deal Brexit and delaying the departure date.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg tells his colleagues to hold their nerve for a better Brexit deal. He calls for lower taxes and less regulation after Brexit, but cautions against attempts to deselect pro-EU Tory MPs, saying "the party needs to remain a broad church".

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In what it labels an exclusive report, Huffpost UK says the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has used what it calls "a highly controversial veto" to block the release of his correspondence with officials about bullying and harassment in Parliament.

A number of papers focus on the Equality and Human Rights Commission's warning that it could start a formal investigation into the Labour party for discriminating against Jewish people . The Daily Mail says Labour could become only the second political party, after the BNP, to face action.

The Telegraph says the EHRC will consider claims that Labour is "institutionally anti-Semitic" . The Labour party has said that it will "co-operate fully" with the Commission.

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Many of the papers consider the reputation of Michael Jackson, following the screening of a two-part documentary on Channel 4 this week. In its review of the programmes, the Sun says they established a simple but horrific truth : "Michael Jackson really was a paedophile".

Writing in the Daily Mail, Alison Boshoff says one of the most shocking elements of the documentary was that that the singer was acting in plain sight - regularly being filmed getting out of cars and going into hotels with young boys, often holding hands with them.