Newspaper headlines: Suspect in Madeleine case \'unmasked\' in papers

Newspaper headlines: Suspect in Madeleine case 'unmasked' in papers

By BBC News Staff

Many of Friday's newspaper front pages have named and pictured the suspect in the Madeleine McCann case. Because of German privacy law, and the BBC website being accessible in Germany, the BBC has not pictured him.

Daily Mail 5 June
Image caption The Daily Mail is one of several papers to picture the new suspect in the Madeleine McCann case. Unlike other front pages, it has two pictures including one of the suspect in a bar. The paper reports that the suspect had been on the police radar for more than two decades and has as many as 17 criminal convictions.
Daily Mirror
Image caption The Daily Mirror also pictures the suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, after German prosecutors said on Wednesday that they believe she was murdered. He became a suspect in this case after a chat with a friend, the paper adds.
The i newspaper 5 June
Image caption The i newspaper also reports the new details from the German prosecutors, who are treating the case as a murder investigation. It says the suspect in the case has multiple convictions for sexual offences and quotes prosecutors as saying: "We are talking about a predator convicted of crimes against little girls".
Daily Express 5 June
Image caption The Daily Express reports that German police know how she died but have not given any further details. It calls the claim that Madeleine was killed "crushing" for the parents, and adds that is understood police do not believe it was premeditated.
The Sun 5 June
Image caption Police identified the suspect after he told a friend in a pub that he had taken her, the Sun claims.
Daily Star
Image caption The Daily Star also reports on the suspect's previous convictions.
Daily Telegraph 5 June
Image caption The Telegraph says the suspect was "discounted" by Portuguese police just months after Madeleine disappeared in 2007. But the paper's top story reports that face masks will become compulsory on public transport in England, follow the government's announcement Wednesday. The decision will increase speculation that the 2m rule could also be relaxed soon, the paper adds.
The Times 5 June
Image caption The new rule on face masks also leads the Times. It says all passengers using trains, trams, the Tube, ferries, aircraft and buses will need to cover their mouths and nose with a mask, which can be homemade. The paper adds that it comes two months after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps dismissed the idea as "counterproductive".
Metro newspaper
Image caption The Metro says public transport passengers in England will face fines if they do not obey the rule from 15 June. No agreement has been reached for Scotland and Wales to adopt the same rule.
The Guardian 5 June
Image caption The Guardian carries an exclusive story, reporting the government's test and trace system is not expected to be fully working until September or October. The paper says the chief operating officer of the NHS programme has told colleagues that the system - which was launched last week and traces the contacts of those who have tested positive for the virus - would be "imperfect" at first.
Financial Times
Image caption The eurozone's economy is going to get a boost, reports the Financial Times, after the European Central Bank said it would buy an extra €600bn (£540bn) of bonds and cut growth forecasts. The paper says the increase, aimed to help the zone during the pandemic, "was bigger than most economists had expected". Meanwhile, the paper reports countries including Turkey, Greece, Spain and Portugal are keen to get "transport corridors" with the UK as soon as next month.

The Madeleine McCann investigation makes almost all of the front pages for a second day, with many of the newspapers naming and picturing the new suspect.

The Daily Mail says the man, who is currently in jail in Germany, had been "on the police radar" for two decades.

Portuguese police face "serious questions", says the Daily Mirror, after they failed to put him on a shortlist of 600 suspects in the days after Madeleine went missing - despite his criminal record.

According to the Daily Telegraph, he was investigated at the time of the three-year-old's disappearance in 2007, but ruled out when detectives on the Algarve wrongly declared her parents as suspects.

Image copyright PA
Image caption Madeleine McCann was three years old when she went missing in 2007

The Times thinks the prominent appeal for information by the police suggests they still need a breakthrough.

The developments in the case give cause for hope, says the paper, "but a prosecution seems some way off".

Coronavirus criticism

As the government's official number of coronavirus deaths in the UK approaches 40,000, several papers report on growing criticism of Boris Johnson's handling of the pandemic.

The Financial Times says the "mood in Westminster has darkened", with Conservative MPs "increasingly dismayed" at a series of "policy missteps".

In its editorial, the Times urges Boris Johnson to "admit that mistakes have been made".

The paper says his refusal to "lead from the front" and "be straight with the public" is undermining confidence in the government's grip on the crisis at a crucial time.

The Sun agrees the government's credibility is being "battered" and it's time for Mr Johnson to "take back control".

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The Guardian reports that the coronavirus test and trace system will not be fully operational in England until September - or even October.

According to the paper, a senior executive who was brought in to help run the NHS programme told staff the scheme was "imperfect" and "clunky", just days before it was launched by the government.

The paper has also seen a leaked email from the chief executive of Serco - the main contractor delivering the service - who said he doubted the system would "evolve smoothly".

Face masks U-turn

The Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Metro all lead on the government's change of policy on face masks.

The Telegraph reminds readers that ministers spent weeks dismissing the idea as "largely pointless" at the start of the pandemic - with some suggesting face coverings did "more harm than good".

The paper says the U-turn means the government is now being criticised for "dragging its heels" over rules that have been in place in many European countries for months.

Image copyright Reuters
Image caption The government has now said it's compulsory to wear face coverings on public transport

In its editorial, the paper insists people should be allowed to make their own "common sense" decisions.

The Times says the government's change of heart has prompted calls for face coverings to also be made mandatory in shops.

"Dithering is deadly" says the Daily Mirror's editorial which questions why it has "taken so long" to bring in the measure.

Meanwhile, research published in the Telegraph suggests bald men may be at a higher risk of suffering severe symptoms of coronavirus.

Two studies of patients in Spain found that almost 80% of men with Covid-19 across three hospitals in Madrid were bald, leading some scientists to suggest it should be considered as a risk factor.

The lead author of the research thinks male sex hormones may play a part not only in hair loss, but also in boosting the ability of the virus to attack cells.

The Times reports that plans are being drawn up to abandon the new system for voting in the Commons, just a week after it was introduced.

MPs could be asked to swap the "conga line" for a "self-checkout queue", after complaints the system was unsafe and too time consuming.

The paper says the new proposal would involve MPs swiping their cards on an electronic reader in the division lobbies, allowing them to divide into two lines while they wait.