Newspaper headlines: Retail therapy amid fears of economic \'disaster\'

Newspaper headlines: Retail therapy amid fears of economic 'disaster'

By BBC News Staff
Metro 16 June
Image caption An image showing a long line of patient shoppers, some clad in face masks, outside a Primark store in Milton Keynes takes up most of the Metro's front page. However, the paper describes "chaotic scenes" in London's West End, where it says social distancing rules were "forgotten" at the NikeTown store.
i 16 June
Image caption The i newspaper says shops saw a 40% increase in footfall as non-essential stores reopened in England. The paper also looks ahead to what haircuts might look like on the other side of lockdown.
Daily Telegraph 16 June
Image caption In the Daily Telegraph, former Tory foreign secretary William Hague predicts an economic "catastrophe" as a result of the lockdown. He says it has led to "increasing inequality, social tension and unaffordable debt", and advocates a policy of mass testing.
The Times 16 June
Image caption A Selfridges customer sports designer eye gear and plastic gloves on the front page of the Times. But the paper leads with a study that suggests two million children have done "little or no schoolwork at home" during lockdown. The lead academic on the UCL study tells the paper it threatens the "educational development of a generation of children".
Guardian 16 June
Image caption The Guardian reports that the government's commission on racial inequalities is being set up by a No 10 adviser who has previously suggested "anti-racism is becoming weaponised". The paper says news of Munira Mirza's role was "met with dismay from experts and MPs".
Daily Express 16 June
Image caption Meanwhile, the Daily Express puts Brexit firmly on the day's agenda. Boris Johnson is pictured giving a thumbs up as the paper reports on the PM's assertion that Brexit talks need "a bit of oomph".
FT 16 June
Image caption The Financial Times, which features a picture of a woman next to four Primark bags on its front page, says Mr Johnson's commitment to "intensified negotiations" in July has been met with "relief" in Brussels. EU diplomats expect "crunch talks" in September after an "intensive summer of negotiation", it reports.
Mirror 16 June
Image caption The Mirror juxtaposes pictures of Mr Johnson and England footballer Marcus Rashford, who vowed to fight on after the government confirmed it would not provide free school meal vouchers during the summer. The paper says Rashford "relied on the lifeline as a child".
Daily Mail 16 June
Image caption The Daily Mail leads on Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick's decision to approve a controversial planning application by a Conservative donor. The housing secretary told MPs he had acted in "good faith" and "within the rules" when he backed Richard Desmond's scheme for 1,500 homes in east London.
Star
Image caption And talk about social distancing... the Star reports that our nearest extra-terrestrial neighbours live in our galaxy - but 17,000 light years away.

Many of Tuesday's papers look back on the first day that non-essential shops opened to the public in England.

Richard Littlejohn, in the Daily Mail, notes: "There hasn't been this much activity in the retail sector since the frenzy of panic-buying bog rolls back in March."

On any normal Monday morning, he says, these mostly young and able-bodied shoppers would have jobs to go to.

"But, presumably, they're all on furlough," he says. "Here's the £300bn question: If it's safe for them to flock to shopping malls, what reason is there for preventing them earning a living?"

However, the Sun's leader column congratulates those who braved the queues.

"Every purchase helps save someone's job," it argues. "Too many seem to think we can cower in our homes shopping online until Covid burns out or is nullified by a vaccine.

"Do that and we will emerge to find only ghost towns and millions on handouts."

Meanwhile, Daily Telegraph cartoonist Matt pictures a shop assistant directing a man to the checkout, only for him to cry: "What? I assumed Rishi Sunak was paying for everything."

Image copyright Getty Images

Warnings over lockdown schoolwork

"Millions of pupils doing no work," is the front page headline in The Times, which reports the results of two surveys examining the impact of school closures on education. A study by University College London found a fifth of the UK's primary school children were doing no work at home, or less than an hour a day.

Meanwhile, a survey by the National Foundation for Education Research suggests that four out of 10 pupils in England are not in regular contact with their teachers, and a third are not engaged with schoolwork.

The Guardian carries the same story, quoting the author of one of the studies as saying it paints a gloomy picture.

The Daily Telegraph reports that, under new guidelines, every secondary school pupil in England will be allowed to return to school before the summer - but for just one face-to-face meeting.

The Scottish edition of The Times says First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is under growing pressure to maximise the amount of face-to-face teaching time in secondary schools when they return in August.

It says there's been a surge of interest in private schools from parents of state-school pupils disillusioned about the quality of home teaching and confused about plans for a part-time return to conventional lessons.

Image copyright Getty Images

'Catastrophe'

"Lockdown a disaster for society says Hague," is the Daily Telegraph's front-page headline. Former foreign secretary Lord Hague writes in the paper that the true cost of the lockdown, in human terms, is now becoming apparent.

Unemployment figures due later will represent "a personal catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of people", he says. For many, lockdown will mean "depression, family breakdown and despair", he adds.

The Guardian, meanwhile, has been told that the government's new Commission on Racial Inequalities is being set up by a Downing Street advisor, Munira Mirza, who it says has cast doubt on the existence of institutional racism and has condemned previous inquiries for fostering a "culture of grievance". The paper says news of her involvement has been met with dismay by some campaigners.

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Brussels is preparing to back down over a Brexit fishing deal, the Times claims. The paper's been told that the EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, accepts that the UK will have to be treated as an independent coastal state and have annual negotiations about fishing quotas.

A UK government source is quoted saying: "There have been signals that this is an area where Mr Barnier wants to move, but as yet there are no firm proposals on the table."

The Financial Times leads on the prospects for a post-Brexit trade deal, reporting that there's "growing optimism in London and Brussels" that an agreement might be possible. It says there's "a sense of relief" in Brussels that Mr Johnson had not walked out of the talks and that a British official described the mood between the two sides as decent".

The Daily Express is also optimistic — saying that the EU is ready to drop its "hardline" demands and that a trade deal could be reached next month.