Newspaper headlines: Starmer's NHS pledge and MPs' anger over eco-protesters

By BBC News
Staff
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's pledge to reintroduce NHS targets if he becomes PM leads both the i and the Daily Telegraph. The i says Sir Keir promised targets for ambulance arrivals, A&E waiting times, cancer referrals and an 18-week guarantee for treatment.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Sir Keir said the Conservatives have presided over a "cycle of decline" that could bring the NHS to an end. The paper's main image is of Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist facing espionage charges in Moscow, with red marks around his wrists from being tightly handcuffed.
The Sun reports on calls from some MPs to increase prison sentences for eco-protesters who repeatedly break the law. The paper says the demands came after Just Stop Oil protesters halted the World Snooker Championships by spilling orange paint powder over a table.
"When will someone get a grip of the eco fanatics?" asks the Daily Mail. The paper says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last night vowed to bring in tougher laws to stop protesters disrupting British sporting events.
The Metro reports that an inquest will be held to investigate how a violent criminal was classed as low risk by probation officers before going on to kill his pregnant partner and three children.
The Daily Mirror looks at the Home Secretary's latest pledge to crackdown on knife crime. Suella Braverman is the fifth Tory home secretary to promise a ban on zombie knives and machetes, yet criminals can still buy the blades and police are powerless to act, the paper says.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Britain should not "pull the shutters down" on China. Mr Cleverly will set out the UK's approach towards China next week, the paper reports, amid concerns from some Tory MPs over its threat to security.
The Financial Times leads on the news that investment bank Goldman Sachs suffered an 18% drop in profits for the first quarter following an under performance at its fixed income trading unit.
"Not today thank you, chatbots!" is the message from the Daily Star. The paper says the head of Google has admitted the dangers of artificial intelligence "keep him up at night".
A landmark trial has found a "soup and shake" diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, the Times reports. The paper says patients who consumed just 800-calories a day for three months and then kept the weight off no longer needed medication five years later.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has told the Daily Telegraph that the NHS is "broken". He points to Labour research that suggests a fifth of A&E patients go to hospital because they cannot get a GP appointment - and criticises what he calls the "collapse of general practice".

Speaking to the i, Sir Keir says a Labour government would reintroduce Tony Blair-style targets to improve waiting times - meaning hospitals and ambulance services "would be taken to task" if they do not see or treat patients within an expected time frame.

The foreign secretary has told the Guardian that the UK must not "pull the shutters down" on China - because it would be counterproductive to the national interest.

In what the paper calls a "warning to Conservative hawks", James Cleverly says Britain cannot simply treat Beijing as either a threat or an opportunity, but must take a more nuanced approach. "If we don't engage, we lose influence", he says.

The Daily Mirror is sceptical about plans announced on Tuesday by the government to ban more types of knives. It says Suella Braverman is the fifth Conservative Home Secretary to promise to outlaw machetes and zombie knives - yet the blades are still available to buy online.

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The front pages of the Daily Mail and the Sun both feature a call by MPs for tougher penalties to deal with climate protesters - after activists disrupted the Grand National and the World Snooker Championship.

The Daily Mail reports that the London Marathon could be the next event to be targeted - with ringleaders threatening to "flood the capital" with 30,000 supporters ahead of Sunday's race.

The Sun is clear about where it stands - arguing "we need unsympathetic judges and meaningful jail terms" to crackdown on what it calls the "attention-seeking stunts of "eco-yobs".

The Times highlights the results of what it calls a "landmark" medical trial which suggest that type 2 diabetes is reversible.

The patients involved were put on a radical "soup and shake" diet for three months, consuming just 800 calories a day. Those who had not put any weight back on five years later were found to be free from type 2 symptoms and no longer needed medication.