The Papers: Civilisation under threat\, and Grayling quit calls

Newspaper headlines: Sir David Attenborough and Chris Grayling on front pages

By BBC News Staff
Image caption A grim warning from naturalist Sir David Attenborough that "time is running out" to save the Earth leads some papers. "Our planet is on the brink of destruction," is the Daily Mirror's take on the much-loved broadcaster's speech at the opening ceremony of United Nations-sponsored climate talks in Poland.
Image caption "Act now - or face the collapse of civilisation," is the quote splashed across the i's front page. The paper also quotes UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres describing climate change as a "matter of life and death" for many countries.
Image caption A more mundane subject - albeit one that inflames the passions of the commuting public - leads other papers. The Times focuses on a "damning" report by MPs suggesting Transport Secretary Chris Grayling should accept responsibility for the summer "meltdown" of rail services. Mr Grayling was at "the apex" of the system controlling Britain's railways and had the power to halt timetable changes that led to the cancellation of at least 780 trains a day at its peak, it reports.
Image caption The prospect of increased fares in the new year is a case of "insult added to injury" in the eyes of the commuters' champion, says the Metro. It adds that Mr Grayling is facing fresh calls to quit in the wake of the MPs' report.
Image caption The state of a different public service - the police - is causing concern for the Daily Express. It describes a "vanishing thin blue line", with the number of officers at its lowest since the "infamous 'riot year' of 1981". The paper adds: "Just 110,000 are struggling to cope with an epidemic of knife crime, a surge of violence on the streets as well as warring drugs gangs, spiralling cyber crime and the ever-present terrorist threat."
Image caption And criminal justice also worries the Sun, which reports that child killer David McGreavy, 67, has been cleared for release by the Parole Board. The paper quotes the mother of his three victims saying: "I was told he'd never go free."
Image caption Meanwhile, the Brexit saga rumbles on. The Daily Telegraph reports the attorney general's advice to Parliament that the UK would be "indefinitely committed" to Brussels' customs rules under the "backstop" arrangement designed to prevent the return of customs posts at the Irish border until a new UK-EU trade deal is in force. It quotes Geoffrey Cox's opinion that it was a "calculated risk" worth taking.
Image caption Meanwhile, the Guardian says Mr Cox - or Cabinet Minister David Lidington - could miss the crucial Commons vote on the Brexit deal, in the event they are held in contempt of Parliament as a result of the decision not to publish the full legal advice given to government about the EU withdrawal agreement. After the paper's first edition had gone to bed, Commons Speaker John Bercow said there was an "arguable case" for contempt.
Image caption The Daily Mail again celebrates those people - 11,000 of them - who have signed up to its campaign to volunteer for the NHS. Meanwhile, it reports that a publicly funded firm supplying cars to disabled people is under fire from MPs over a £2m bonus payment for its chief executive. Motability Operations is quoted saying it had presented "full details" of Mike Betts' pay to the Work and Pensions Committee, and that reporting of remuneration "is fully in line with the Companies Act".
Image caption The Daily Star declares the "world's gone mad" in response to an academic's suggestion that phrases such as "taking a bull by the horns" could be replaced by vegan-friendly alternatives. "There are now real fears that traditional sayings mentioning animals, meat and dairy products risk dying out," it declares.
Image caption And the Financial Times reports on the departure of a senior executive at miner and commodity trader Glencore, as part of a reshuffle of the Swiss-based company.