Newspaper headlines: \'Magic Monday\' as lockdown easing to begin

Newspaper headlines: 'Magic Monday' as lockdown easing to begin

By BBC News Staff
Daily Express
Image caption Many newspapers look ahead to Boris Johnson's speech on Sunday, when he will set out how the government plans to lift the lockdown. The Daily Express says the "first steps to freedom" - which are aimed at getting the UK economy going again - will start from Monday.
Daily Mirror
Image caption The Daily Mirror gives details about how the lockdown might be lifted, and reports the government has a five-step plan to last from now until October. Under the plan, Monday will see garden centres reopen and more key workers' children allowed back in school, the paper says. It adds that primary schools could restart by the end of May with pubs and restaurants reopening at the end of August.
Financial Times Thursday
Image caption The Financial Times says the government's strategy will involve a "two-pronged approach", with some restrictions lifted while others are tightened. One area where rules could be toughened could be border checks, the paper suggests, with anyone who enters the UK forced to go into quarantine.
Daily Mail
Image caption The Daily Mail reports the current lockdown will be extended for another three weeks, but a series of "easements" will be announced when the PM speaks to the nation on Sunday. One of the measures to be relaxed will allow people to sunbathe in the park, the paper says. The PM will also hold a Cobra meeting with leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to try and agree a UK-wide approach.
The i newspaper
Image caption The i newspaper suggests Mr Johnson faces a clash with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who warned against easing the lockdown until the number of infections significantly declines in Scotland, which is lagging behind other parts of the UK.
Daily Telegraph Thursday
Image caption The Daily Telegraph is one of many papers to report that the government's "stay at home" message will be scrapped this weekend, with Mr Johnson to instead urge people to go back to work if they can do safely. Changing the advice is part of a strategy "to change the mindset of a population that remains more fearful of lifting the lockdown than politicians are," the paper says.
Daily Star
Image caption "Magic Monday" is how the Daily Star describes the start of next week. The paper also picks up on a comment made by government minister Robert Jenrick, who urged people to buy a newspaper to help struggling publications.
The Sun
Image caption The Sun is similarly jubilant about the prospect of the lockdown starting to be lifted on Monday. Picnics in parks, unlimited exercise and some sports will be allowed from next week, the paper says, and even some pub gardens could be allowed to open as long as people obey the 2m rule.
Metro Thursday
Image caption Meanwhile, the Metro leads with something different. It focuses on the UK reaching the "chilling milestone" of more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths. The paper also points out that the number of tests carried out failed to reach the government's daily target of 100,000 for the fourth day in a row - despite initially hitting the target last week.
The Guardian
Image caption The Guardian's stop story also focuses on testing. The paper says the government's claim to have met its target of 100,000 tests a day "appeared in serious doubt" after the figures fell below for four days in a row. It comes as Mr Johnson set a new target of 200,000 tests a day by the end of May, which the Guardian says was dismissed by medics and opposition figures who saw it as a "stunt".

The majority of Thursday's papers are focused on the prospect of some possible changes to the lockdown.

"Happy Monday" is the celebratory headline in the Sun, as it reports on a likely "easing of lockdown restrictions".

It is not the only front page to do so. The Daily Mail proclaims "Hurrah! Lockdown freedom beckons", while the Daily Express goes for: "First steps to freedom".

The Daily Star's headline describes 11 May as "magic Monday".

There is a lot of speculation about what measures are likely to be relaxed and when. The Guardian suggests that straight away people will be allowed to sunbathe, have picnics and go rambling.

The Daily Mirror goes further than most with a list of five key stages in the gradual move towards normal life.

It predicts that primary school classes will resume at the end of this month, secondary schools in June, and pubs and restaurants will reopen in August but with social distancing.

Image copyright EPA
Image caption Mr Johnson will review the lockdown with his cabinet on Thursday

In its front page lead, the Financial Times suggests the "price" of fewer restrictions will be more rigorous UK border checks.

One possibility it mentions would be a 14-day quarantine period for all arrivals from abroad, including British citizens.

Both the Daily Telegraph and the Times focus on the expectation that the government will drop its advice to "stay at home".

The Times suggests the slogan - which has been the core message of ministers since the end of March - will be replaced by one which urges people to "stay safe, save lives".

In its leader, the Telegraph argues that Boris Johnson may face a challenge in changing the public's mindset. It believes that if the prime minister is over-cautious about the message, "he risks losing the power to persuade people that it's safe to surface".

But it does point out that trust in him and his government is "high".

Johnson vs Starmer

Several papers consider the performances of Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer, in their first encounter at Prime Minister's Questions.

For the Daily Mirror, it was round one to the new Labour leader. "With six piercing questions," says its leader column, Sir Keir "punctured Boris Johnson's claim that the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis had been a success".

Henry Deedes - the Daily Mail's sketch writer - believes the exchanges over the dispatch box had a whiff of James Bond about them.

"Early in each story," he writes, "comes an inaugural meeting between hero and foe. A chance encounter over highballs, perhaps, or a high-stakes hand of chemin de fer."

Wednesday's session had a "slight flavour of this", he suggests, concluding that it was "less a head-to-head confrontation than a peek into the milky whites of each other's eyes".

Image copyright EPA/Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament
Image caption Boris Johnson faced new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for the first time after his recovery from Covid-19

The i newspaper's deputy political editor seems surprised that even though he had had two "warm up" PMQs - in which the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, stood in for Mr Johnson - Sir Keir still seemed nervous.

"The relatively gentle initiation did not stop his hands shaking," it reports. But it also points out that the prime minister - who was "denied the army of Tory MPs who would usually cheer at his soundbites" - was relatively subdued.

According to the Guardian, Sir Keir struck the right balance, managing "to assert the truth about government failings, without appearing to undermine its pandemic response with excessive partisanship".

But it believes he has a long way to go. "No-one expects to see a fully-formed government in waiting yet," it says. "But there will come a time when voter demand to know what the opposition stands for, besides criticising the Tories".

Coronavirus app

The Financial Times suggests the new NHS app, to trace people who've been exposed to Covid-19, is "in question" - just days after it was launched.

The paper claims it's seen documents that show a Swiss IT firm has been awarded a contract - worth £3.8m - to investigate switching to Apple and Google's contract-tracing technology, which does not store information centrally.

The FT points out that this would be a U-turn from the UK's original decision to reject help from the tech firms.

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"Cornwall facing £885m summer season wipe-out" is a headline in the Daily Express.

It quotes the county's head of tourism, Malcolm Bell, urging the government to allow the sector to reopen before the end of the summer.

Mr Bell says a balance must be struck between protecting customers and protecting the communities of Cornwall.

He warns that if visitors are not allowed back until September, there'll be "massive implications" for thousands of business owners and staff.

And several of the front pages, including the Daily Express and the Times, feature photos of the singer Adele who has published an Instagram post supporting essential workers.

Like others, the Times draws attention to her appearance, saying she has thought to have lost seven stone using an exercise regime.

The Telegraph columnist, Rebecca Reid, describes being "personally affronted" by the praise lavished on the star's transformation, saying it "reinforces the message that bodies look better when they are smaller".

She reminds readers that: "As a society, we are supposed to have progressed beyond noticing what a woman weighs."