Newspaper headlines: May 'backs US' and shrine row continues By BBC News

Staff Published duration 11 April 2018

image copyright PA image caption Mrs May and President Trump spoke on the phone on Tuesday

The international response to the suspected chemical attack in Syria leads many of the front pages again, but your take on the government's position might depend upon which newspaper you read.

The Times says Theresa May is resisting calls to join military action until more evidence is produced.

However, the Telegraph thinks Mrs May has given her "strongest signal yet" that Britain would support a strike, after she and President Trump vowed not to allow the use of chemical weapons to continue.

Military action is backed by the Sun , which argues that the memories of Iraq should not be allowed to paralyse Britain's foreign policy forever.

It says waiting for the UN to solve the crisis is a "fantasy" and insists "we mustn't be scared of standing up for what's right".

The Daily Mail is more cautious, claiming it feels "very queasy indeed" about stepping into what it calls the "quagmire" of the Middle East.

The Daily Mirror accepts "doing nothing is not an option", but it urges the government to seek the approval of parliament, "before being sucked into another unpredictable conflict".

Facebook data

The Guardian says Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and two other firms are facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly misusing the personal data of more than 71 million people.

On Tuesday, Facebook's chief executive gave evidence to a Senate committee over the scandal, but the Daily Mail said he was "repeatedly unable to answer basic questions".

The website, HuffPost UK , offers an alternative assessment, claiming Mark Zuckerberg's appearance was "derided" by social media users "chiefly thanks to confused and confusing questions from middle-aged politicians struggling to grasp how Facebook works".

image copyright EPA image caption Mark Zuckerberg was questioned by senators on Tuesday

With the headline, "Shameless", the Daily Mirror says the family of a suspected burglar have demanded an apology from the home-owner who struggled with their relative before he died of stab wounds.

According to the Daily Star , a "gypsy war" is looming, after travellers and local residents clashed over the flowers left in memory of Henry Vincent.

Stabbing 'wake-up call'

Analysis of NHS data by the Independent has led the online newspaper to conclude that the number of child stabbing victims has "soared" over the past five years.

It says there was a 63% rise in the number of children aged between 10 and 16 who were treated for knife injuries - four times the rate of increase in the population as a whole.

The biggest increase of 85 per cent was among 15-year-olds.

The British Youth Council has told the Independent the figures should "serve as a wake-up call".

image copyright PA image caption A row rolls on over tributes left to Henry Vincent in Hither Green, London

According to the Financial Times , "a new chapter" is about to begin at the world's biggest carmaker, following the diesel emissions scandal.

The newspaper says Matthias Muller is to be replaced as chief executive of Volkswagen by the head of the VW passenger car brand, Herbert Diess, when the board of the German giant meet on Friday.

Friends of Mr Muller have told the FT he is not being fired - but another source says some board members "wanted change".

Yorkshire seal

Photographs of a seal can be seen in several papers after he was spotted 50 miles from the sea.

The Sun says ramblers were "astonished" to see the large, grey seal basking in a field in Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

The Daily Mirror says experts believe it was chasing fish from the North Sea up the River Swale, before stopping to "take a breather".

The Daily Telegraph notes that seals "possess an affinity with inland Yorkshire", often swimming up the Ouse in search of fish.