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The front page of the Guardian shows a burning building, and fire engulfing a row of cars in Tehran, with the headline saying Iran is preparing for “violent clashes”. The Times uses a picture of a crowd of demonstrators marching through the streets of the Iranian capital. Its headline says the Ayatollah’s regime is “teetering”. The Telegraph says Ali Khamenei is facing his “gravest threat” – and that he fears defections by the armed forces and police.
The Telegraph carries an article by the shadow justice secretary, Robert Jenrick, in which he says British police forces are “giving in to Islamists”. Responding to the row about Maccabi Tel Aviv fans being barred from a football match in Birmingham, he says officers are “too defeatist” to enforce the law, claiming that they want to “placate community relations”.
The i Weekend says the government will “ramp up” measures to close asylum hotels, with evictions beginning in the spring. It forms part of changes to the asylum system previously announced by the home secretary – which include reducing the support the government is legally required to give refugees. The i quotes a senior Labour MP as saying they expect “big movement” on the closure of asylum hotels in “the next couple of months”.
The Daily Mail says high-strength cannabis is being prescribed by private clinics to treat anxiety and depression. It says a “shocking loophole” allows the drug to be given to patients after “just one video consultation”. The government says it expects regulators to “crack down” on private companies who prescribe medicine without “proper clinical care”.
The Sun says the Duke of Sussex will ask his father King Charles III to open the Invictus Games when they are held in Birmingham next year. It calls the move a “major thawing of relations”. A source is quoted as saying the games “represent a cause close to both Charles and Harry’s hearts”. The Sun calls the move an attempt to “clear the heir”.
And the continued success of the darts world champion, Luke Littler, is the focus of The Daily Star. Heralding his £20m sponsorship deal, the paper says “Loot Littler” has gone “from kebabs to riches”.
