Newspaper headlines: The 'middle-class jihadi' and his 'secret texts' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 25 March 2017

image copyright AFP

The aftermath of the terror attack in Westminster still dominates the newspaper front pages.

The Times says attacker Khalid Masood is suspected of taking instructions from accomplices in the moments before he struck.

It reports that he used the encrypted WhatsApp messaging service, which has led to a number of theories including that he was saying goodbye to associates or seeking religious authority before striking.

Many of the papers delve into Masood's background to try to explain his actions.

The Daily Mail reports that with his middle-class upbringing he was as far removed from the stereotype image of an "Islamic State soldier" as it's possible to imagine.

A former friend tells the Sun that after serving time for a knife attack Masood emerged from jail a brooding convert to radical Islam.

The Daily Telegraph says the age of the attacker - 52 - has prompted calls for Britain's counter-terrorism strategy to be reviewed to take account of the threat from older extremists.

In other news, it may be the EU's 60th birthday, but few papers see much cause for celebration.

The FT highlights what it calls a "blunt warning" to the Trump administration from the head of the European Commission against encouraging other EU countries to follow Britain through the exit door.

Jean-Claude Juncker tells the paper that a break up of the EU could lead to a new war in the Balkans if the countries there no longer have any prospect of membership.

However the Daily Express dismisses his suggestion that Britain's bill for leaving the EU amounts to £50bn.

It says it is a "made-up figure" and Britain should seek payment instead for its contribution to the EU's assets and coffers.

The Times calls on the EU to re-invent itself. It says its institutions have failed to develop in pace with its most pressing challenges.

Meanwhile a sharp fall in corporate sponsorship for the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show has had a damning effect, reports the FT

The paper says it has caused organisers to make cuts to the number of show gardens on display. This year, there will be eight compared to 17 in 2016.

One of the sponsors that pulled out, Harrods, told the paper: "We have decided to focus on some different summer season events in 2017 in order to offer new experiences to our customers".

Several papers have accounts of a dinner between foreign secretary Boris Johnson and former prime minister David Cameron at a restaurant in New York on Thursday night.

The pair were spotted by a former Guardian journalist now living in the city, on her way home from work.

The Guardian says it seems they may have buried their hatchet over Brexit and resumed their schoolboy friendship.

According to the FT, Mr Johnson urged a "reluctant" Mr Cameron to consider becoming the next Nato Secretary General.