Newspaper headlines: Taxi bomb suspect and Covid booster jabs
By BBC News
Staff
- Published
Most of Tuesday's papers lead with the latest on the Liverpool taxi bombing suspect, after he was named by police as Emad Al Swealmeen. The Daily Mail has exclusive pictures of Al Swealmeen wearing a chef's hat, cooking a pizza, and describes him as a Christian convert who had a rejected asylum application in 2014.
The main story in The Times is about Al Swealmeen's conversion to Christianity, but the paper also has additional detail about the incident. It cites security sources, saying that some of the device failed to detonate. It also suggests Liverpool's Anglican cathedral could have been an alternative target to the women's hospital where the bomb exploded on Sunday.
The Mirror suggests the bomb was designed to target new mothers and babies at the hospital. It says Al Swealmeen, who died in the blast, converted from Islam in 2017 and had lived with a Christian couple, Malcolm and Elizabeth Hitchcott, in the city for eight months.
The Metro pictures taxi driver David Perry, who drove Al Swealmeen to the hospital. Mr Perry's wife, Rachel, tells the paper he is "lucky to be alive" and described his escape as "an utter miracle". The paper also finds room to cover the announcement of the contestants in ITV's I'm A Celebrity, including Richard Madeley and Louise Minchin.
The Daily Express features pictures of both Al Swealmeen and taxi driver David Perry. The paper says Al Swealmeen was a Syrian asylum seeker, but other papers are suggesting he was from Iraq.
The Telegraph reports Al Swealmeen intended to detonate his device at the same cathedral where he had been confirmed four years earlier by the Right Reverend Cyril Ashton. Security sources working on the investigation have said the motive for the attack remains unclear, it reports.
The Guardian leads on the rising terror threat, following the bombing. It says Al Swealmeen's device was homemade and police are still unsure if the hospital was the intended target, or if it had ignited prematurely. The paper also covers the government's plans to expand the rollout of a Covid booster jab.
The i newspaper leads on the Covid booster jabs being made available to those over 40, an announcement made by Boris Johnson on Monday. The prime minister is urging all those who are eligible to come forward for their third shot, amid rising case numbers across Europe. The paper also gives a nod to plans to scale back rail plans in the Northern Powerhouse area.
The main story for Financial Times is the plan by Shell to move its tax base to the UK from the Netherlands. It reports the move sparked last-ditch action by the Dutch government to encourage the company to stay in the country.
Like almost all of the other papers, the Daily Star does feature the Liverpool bombing story, but the main story is the Who's Roger Daltrey calling the Rolling Stones a "mediocre pub band" reigniting a longstanding rivalry.