Press Review

Government rescues banking giants

The government's move to inject billions into three of the country's biggest banks dominates the front pages.

The FT says Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB are being thrown a "£39bn lifeline".

The banks are effectively being nationalised, the Telegraph and the Independent conclude, as the bail-out will see the government take large voting stakes.

The scale of the nationalisation "dwarfs the rescue of Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley and represents a potentially huge risk for the taxpayer", the Times says.

The Sun sums up the Downing Street rescue with the headline: "Cashier No10 please".

The Mail focuses on the decision by RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin to "fall on his sword" and resign - with a pension worth £579,000 a year.

Meanwhile the Mirror approves of the prime minister's actions, concluding he is "gunning for the greedy bankers who helped bring about the credit crisis", under the headline "Bloodbath of the Bankers".

Europe adopts Brown bank plan

The prime minister has hailed a "co-ordinated and comprehensive European plan" that sees other EU leaders follow Britain's lead in bailing out failing banks.

Appearing on Sunday at a meeting of eurozone leaders in Paris, he urged them to adopt Britain's measures of pumping huge amounts into the financial sector.

Anatole Kaletsky, writing in the Times, says that "Europe has found an unlikely intellectual guide: Gordon Brown".

The FT reports that other world leaders in Australia and New Zealand and the Middle East were "scrambling to finalise rescue plans for their banking systems before stock markets open today".

Brown set to move to No12

The prime minister is set to move his office to Number 12 Downing Street, the Sun reports.

The paper says Gordon Brown is planning to create an open-plan operational "war room" in order to respond more quickly to crises and prepare for a general election campaign.

He is thought to have borrowed the idea from New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose headquarters he visited two weeks ago.

And as the scheme cannot be created in listed building Number 10, the former whips' office in Number 12 - currently home to Downing Street's strategic communications unit and press office - will be redeveloped.

Town halls in talks over Icelandic collapse

Town hall and charity leaders will meet with Treasury ministers this week to discuss emergency action following the Icelandic financial crisis.

Local authorities which had money invested in the country's failed banks are attempting to stave off council tax rises, missed wage payments and service cuts.

The Guardian says that while a deal to repay individual British savers is close, charities and councils are "still out in the cold".

The FT reports that Iceland's prime minister launched a blistering attack on the government for "bullying a small neighbour", and said his country might sue the UK over its reaction to the crisis.

Mandelson faces oligarch questions

Peter Mandelson is being "dogged by his links to a Russian oligarch", the Times reports.

The business secretary faces questions over a meeting on board the yacht of Oleg Deripaska during his term as EU trade commissioner.

Their links represent a potential conflict of interest because Mandelson promoted steel tariff reforms likely to benefit Deripaska.

Meanwhile several other papers report on a £1m pay-off and pension for Mandelson on leaving his post with the EU.

Sharia law unsuitable for UK, says MP

Sharia law is not suitable for implementation in Britain and women could be "abused" in Sharia courts, communities minister Sadiq Khan has said.

The Express says the comments "carry particular weight because he is a Muslim".

Tory plan to shake up railways

Conservative plans to shake up Britain's railways could include ending Network Rail's monopoly on engineering work.

Train operators would be invited to bid against the owner of the country's rail infrastructure for engineering tasks.

Blair faces new questions over F1 row

Former prime minister Tony Blair could face what the Mail calls a "humiliating recall to Parliament" over the 1997 decision to exempt motor racing from a ban on tobacco sponsorship.

The Conservatives want Blair to explain himself over reports that he gave the order within hours of meeting Formula One boss and Labour donor Bernie Ecclestone.

DoH planning dentistry crackdown

The Department of Health is planning a crackdown on dentists who have been "exploiting" the system to maximise their incomes, the Independent reports.

It is alleged that some dentists recall healthy patients for checks too often and divide courses of treatments to trigger extra payments.

US-style toll lane plans mooted

US-style motorway toll lanes could be adopted in the UK after the government sent a team to America to look into the viability of the plan, the Telegraph reports.

The paper says the Conservatives have back-tracked slightly on their support for the scheme, with shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers saying: "While we welcome the extension of hard shoulder driving, it is not a universal panacea."

Lords to inflict 'crushing defeat' on 42 days

The government is heading for a "crushing defeat" in the House of Lords over moves to extend the pre-charge detention period for terror suspects to 42 days, the Independent predicts.

The paper says such is the scale of opposition to the government plan, it could be rejected by more than 100 votes.

Poll shows Tories trusted on schools

Parents trust the Conservatives more than Labour to improve education, a YouGov poll has shown.

The Tories are trusted the most by 36 per cent, compared to 26 per cent for Labour.

Tories want school grant inquiry

The Conservatives have called for an independent inquiry into delayed student grant payments.

More than 100,000 teenagers are still waiting for their education maintenance allowance of £30 a week, leading shadow schools secretary Michael Gove to say: "Just a few months after Ed Balls's department delivered us the Sats fiasco, the payment of EMAs is similarly mired in chaos."

Two million could be jobless by Christmas

As many as two million people could be made jobless by Christmas, official figures due for release on Wednesday will show.

UK forces 'can leave Iraq'

Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki tells the Times that British combat forces are no longer needed to maintain security in southern Iraq.

"There might be a need for their experience in training and some technological issues, but as a fighting force, I don't think that it is necessary," he says.

Tanning salon ban for under 18s

The Department of Health is to ban under-18s from using tanning salons in order to reduce the risk of young people developing skin cancer, the Telegraph reports.

Free drink offers could be banned

Promotions offering free drinks for women in bars and pubs could be banned under government plans.

Officials have drawn up proposals to curb offers such as "happy hour" that encourage excessive drinking, and a code of conduct for the drinks industry.

Just call me Lord, says Mandelson

Peter Mandelson is expected to take his seat in the Lords today as Baron Mandelson of Foy in the county of Herefordshire, and Hartlepool in the county of Durham.

As the only Mandelson in the House, the new business secretary will be known simply as Lord Mandelson.