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The case of a 19-year-old British woman found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in a Cyprus court makes the front pages of several of the papers. The Daily Telegraph reports that Dominic Raab has expressed “serious concern” about the potential for a miscarriage of justice. The paper says the foreign secretary will raise the case with Cypriot authorities.
The Guardian describes this intervention by the UK government as an “unusual move”. The paper notes that the ruling in the case by judge Michalis Papathanasiou was met with immediate condemnation from the woman’s defence team and rights groups, who claimed the trial was full of legal irregularities.
The Sun reports that the teenager branded the verdict a “disgrace” and vowed to clear her name. Like the Telegraph, it features a photo of her outside court wearing a mask with stitches on her lips – a protest at her treatment.
In other news, the Daily Express leads on a warning from England’s top doctor about fad diets and high street remedies for losing weight. Prof Stephen Powis said both had a “slim” – ahem – chance of being successful, while some products for losing weight can even be harmful.
Social media executives are set to face fines and the threat of criminal prosecution if they fail to protect people who use their services, under plans to regulate tech giants for the first time, reports the Times. The paper says the government is to publish its response to a consultation on policing social media companies, such as Facebook and Google, next month after the UK leaves the EU.
The i leads on comments made by Greta Thunberg’s father, who has said her climate change activism helped her cope with depression and Asperger’s. In an interview with the BBC, Svante Thunberg revealed that his teenage daughter had not been eating, talking or going to school before her unlikely rise to stardom.
“The girl given her life back” is the front-page headline on the Daily Mirror. The paper reports that 12-year-old Kayleigh Llewellyn has had her life saved after receiving a heart transplant.
The Daily Mail says Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under pressure to end the “farce” of foreign aid, after it emerged that the money sent to China and India has increased. The two countries – rich enough to mount missions to the Moon – received £151m between them last year, according to the paper.
And finally, the Erasure singer Andy Bell has revealed how he once turned down sex with a “randy alien”, according to the Daily Star.
The British 19-year-old found guilty by a Cypriot judge of making up a gang rape claim is pictured on several of the front pages.
She is seen leaving court in a mask with stitches on her lips, in protest at her treatment.
“Stitched up by judge” reads the headline on the front of the Sun, while the Telegraph reports that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has expressed “serious concerns” about a potential miscarriage of justice.
‘Intergenerational fairness’
An Oxford professor required to retire before his 70th birthday has won a landmark age discrimination battle against the university.
Paul Ewart argued his work in atomic and laser physics was “blossoming” when he was forced out in 2017, reports the Times.
He successfully argued the university’s policy of enforced retirement, which is supposed to foster diversity and “intergenerational fairness”, had created only a “trivial” number of new opportunities for younger academics.
An employment tribunal ruled this did not justify a “heavy discriminatory effect” on older dons.
Prof Ewart tells the Telegraph that Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews are the only British universities to continue with such an “ageist” policy.
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AFP
The British 19-year-old found guilty by a Cypriot judge of making up a gang rape claim is pictured on several of the front pages
The Guardian reveals more than 6,000 children have been investigated by police for “sexting”.
In one case, a nine-year-old boy was recorded on a police database for sending a naked selfie to a girl on Facebook Messenger.
Consensual sharing of explicit images among teenagers has been decriminalised in some countries, including parts of Australia and the US, but remains a crime in England and Wales.
The legal charity, Just for Kids, calls the report “deeply worrying” and says children are being given police records for behaviour they do not fully understand.
Britain’s “place in the world” was actively under consideration 25 years ago, according to papers released by the National Archives.
The Financial Times reports a joint EU-Nafta single market was one idea to come out of a seminar held at Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat.
The “Atlantic community” would go beyond transatlantic defence and security co-operation to bring together the US, Canada, Mexico and the EU in a single free-trade area.
The plan, intended to reinvigorate Sir John Major’s flagging premiership back in 1996, was never pursued.
‘Foreign aid farce’
“Tech bosses face court if they fail to protect users” is the main headline in the Times.
Under government plans to be announced next month, it says, social media executives could be prosecuted unless they shield customers from harmful content.
“Now end the foreign aid farce, Boris”, reads the front page headline in the Daily Mail, as it calls on the prime minister to stop sending money to fast-growing economies such as India and China.
It reports they received £151m last year, despite being rich enough to mount missions to the Moon.
The paper says the Department for International Development stopped sending cash to China in 2011, but aid has continued to be routed via other departments.
The government insists its development work with China and India is “crucial for addressing issues such as trade, climate change and human rights”.
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The tumultuous history of Franco-British relations is set to take an unexpected twist, says the Times, after reports President Emmanuel Macron wants to bestow France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur, on London.
The city would be honoured for providing exile to Charles de Gaulle during World War Two.
And finally, the Daily Express’s front page reports that health officials have issued an alert on New Year “quick-fix” diets.
It quotes NHS medical director Prof Stephen Powis, who says fads such as diets pills, appetite suppressants and so-called “tea-toxes” are peddled by “snake-oil salesmen” and can “end up doing more harm than good”.
The paper’s leader column agrees: “Fad diets will only make your wallet slimmer”.
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