Newspaper headlines: Chaos of the Gatwick \'speck in the sky\'
Newspaper headlines: Chaos of the Gatwick 'speck in the sky'
By BBC NewsStaff
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The front page of the Daily Mail features a picture of the sky over Gatwick with a small dot circled - thought to be the drone which brought the airport to a standstill. "How COULD this speck in the sky ruin Christmas for 350,000?" the paper asks.
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An emergency meeting has been called in Whitehall to determine a response to the airport shutdown, the Guardian reports. The paper says the chaos prompted "disbelief" and calls for new restrictions on drone operations.
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"Eco-warriors" could be to blame says the Daily Telegraph, quoting a Whitehall source. The paper also reports that the Conservatives have cleared Boris Johnson over his controversial remarks about the burka earlier this year.
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The airport chaos was caused by "a lone nut", says the Sun, which dubs the person responsible "the drone wolf". The paper also suggests the "saboteur" is motivated by environmental concerns.
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The Daily Express asks, "Just how can drone maniac shut Gatwick?" It says at least two remote-controlled craft ruined Christmas getaways for 240,000 people.
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The decision to call in the Army is the focus of the Times front page. The paper says concerns have been mounting over drones near airports, with 117 near misses this year.
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Metro also leads with an image of police marksmen standing by with their firearms and the headline, "Seek and destroy".
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"Chaos in the skies," is the headline on the i, which says that police marksmen held their fire against the drone for fear of stray bullets.
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City AM also notes the involvement of the Army and points out that the disruption comes as Gatwick was expecting its busiest Christmas in history, with 3 million passengers due to use the airport over the festive period.
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The Daily Mirror reports a claim that the Lockerbie bombing 30 years ago was carried out not by the Libyans tried in court, but by Palestinians funded by Iran. One of the alleged terrorists confessed the plot to family members, the paper says.
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China is being accused by Britain and the US of a worldwide campaign of cyber attacks to steal trade secrets, the Financial Times reports. The paper says that authorities believe the hackers gained access to 90 companies in 12 countries.
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And the Daily Star focuses on a story involving radio DJ Iain Lee, who helped rescue a caller into his show who had overdosed. The paper says the former I'm A Celebrity star has been hailed as a hero for keeping the man on the line while police tracked him down.