Newspaper headlines: NHS strike 'going to hurt' and Biden's Stormont hope

By BBC News
Staff
Leading on an issue that dominates many of Tuesday's front pages, the i warns that Tuesday's junior doctors' strike in England could see "thousands more patients than expected" have operations cancelled. The action is due to last for four days. "This is going to hurt," former RCN union boss Dr Peter Carter tells the paper. Elsewhere Sir Keir Starmer's bid to "assert his authority" features on the front page, following the fallout from Labour's controversial attack ads against the Conservatives.
Dr Carter's warning that the action is "going to hurt" leads the Daily Express' coverage, with the added detail that health and government officials are warning the public to avoid "risky behaviour". There is also a large image of Princes William and Harry in military uniform, seen on various front pages, with the promise that a "sensational" new TV series will explain "why Harry went to war and not" his brother.
The strike "will cause a month of disruption", is how the Times frames the latest action by NHS staff. Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been accused of treating junior doctors' leaders "with contempt" after accusing those joining a picket line of "maximising disruption by choosing the week after a bank holiday weekend", the paper reports. It also carries an image of US President Joe Biden celebrating Easter at the White House - he is due to arrive in Northern Ireland this evening to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
"We save lives for £14 an hour" is the Daily Mirror's take on strike action by what it refers to as poorly paid junior doctors. Citing the British Medical Association (BMA) union as its source, the paper claims a junior doctor with 10 years' experience is paid about £28 an hour while one with a year's experience gets just £14.09. There is also a look ahead to the new series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, featuring new judge Bruno Tonioli, which starts this weekend.
Another image of President Biden alongside a life-size Easter bunny sits atop the Daily Telegraph, as does more detail on his imminent trip to Belfast. The paper reports that the US leader has arranged to meet leaders from all five of Northern Ireland's main political parties "in a bold attempt to help break the deadlock that has kept Stormont without a functioning government for more than a year". Further down there is a story about the junior doctor's strike, which the paper quotes officials as saying could "compromise patient safety".
Mr Biden's trip to Northern Ireland is also a focus of the Financial Times, with the paper leading on a parade that took place in Londonderry on Monday, organised by Republicans opposed to the Good Friday Agreement. "Police had warned of possible violence," the paper notes, adding petrol bombs were thrown at a police van.
The Daily Mail leads on an exclusive report, with "security sources" said to have told the paper that 19 suspected terrorists are among those to have arrived in the UK illegally on small boats. They are "now believed to be living in hotels paid for by the British taxpayer", it adds. Elsewhere there is a mention of the chaos that is feared over the junior doctors' strike.
Britain's Got Talent gets another top spot on the Sun's front page, as does the story about Princes William and Harry. A new ITV documentary reveals that the late Queen Elizabeth II wanted both her grandsons to "join the war in Afghanistan", the paper reports, attributing the information to retired British Army officer Sir Mike Jackson who is said to have "broken strict protocol by revealing details of his private audience with the monarch".
"Dope me up Scotty" is the Daily Star's main headline today, which is a reference to reports that astronauts will one day "be free to make their own drugs in space" in an apparent bid to ensure "the success of future manned missions". This will mean astronauts can access medicines at all times, the paper reports, adding Nasa bosses are investing hundreds of thousands of pounds on research into so-called "astropharmacies".

"Nineteen terror suspects among Channel arrivals" is the Daily Mail's front page headline. Security sources have told the paper that the foreign nationals - with links to groups including Islamic State - reached the UK illegally on small boats from northern France last year. The Mail says most of the group have since lodged asylum claims here - and cannot be deported due, in part, to human rights laws. The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases or operational matters, but that action would be taken if someone "of national security interest" entered the UK as an illegal migrant.

The Daily Telegraph reports that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is planning to hold the next general election in the autumn of next year - with October and November 2024 "provisionally circled". It says Downing Street believes that going to the polls then would give Mr Sunak the best chance of victory.

Reuters

There is widespread coverage of the four-day strike by junior doctors across England. "Don't get ill!" is the stark warning from the Daily Express which quotes Dr Peter Carter, the former head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union, as saying: "The reality is, this is going to hurt."

The Times warns that the 96-hour walkout over pay will cause a month of disruption. The paper says NHS services will struggle to recover, and cancer care is expected to be one of the critical areas facing delays. The i reports that thousands more patients than expected will not be treated because of the strike. It points out that the government and the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), both claim they are willing to restart pay talks - but both are demanding concessions first.

Meanwhile the Daily Mirror reports on what it calls "the shocking truth" about junior doctors' wages. It says that - according to a new campaign by the BMA - they are being paid as little as £14 an hour to carry out vital operations. "Surely this is not fair?" asks the Mirror, adding that the Tories still refuse to start pay discussions.

Reuters

The Department of Health says the campaign is "misleading" and does not take into account the additional earning capacity and pay progression available to junior doctors.

The Guardian says Tory "neglect" has been blamed for 3.6 million abandoned calls to NHS 111 in England in the past 12 months. It says the helpline is supposed to make it quicker and easier for patients to get the right advice or treatment they need but the paper says data produced for the Liberal Democrats suggests that callers are waiting so long to speak to someone, nearly one in five give up. The government says it is increasing the number of NHS 111 call handlers to 4,800.

Finally, the Daily Star reports that astronauts will one day be able to make their own drugs and medicines in space. It says the "astro-pharmacy" labs will be critical to the success of future missions, especially long trips. "Dope me up Scotty," the paper's main headline reads.