“An army of online conspiracy theorists” pushed Julia Wandelt to believe she was the missing girl Madeleine McCann, according to the Daily Mail. The paper writes that “a jury yesterday convicted her [Wandelt] of tormenting Kate and Gerry McCann in a campaign that began on the internet”, pushing Wandelt to claim she was their missing daughter after being abducted during a family holiday in 2007. DNA tests show Wandelt is not Madeleine.
“The parents of Madeleine McCann say the fantasist who pretended to be their missing daughter needs help,” leads the Daily Mirror. Madeleine’s family has shown Wandelt “compassion” after her conviction, the paper writes.
The Financial Times leads with a $1.2tn (£0.9tn) “AI sell-off” among some of the biggest “AI-related stocks”, including Nvidia, Meta, Palantir and Oracle. It also reports slippage among tech giants Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, which are “borrowing hundreds of billions to fund expansion in AI”. According to the paper, the mass sell-off is “putting Wall Street on course for its worst week since [US President] Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in April”.
“Disgraced Andrew Windsor is spending his last weeks at Royal Lodge ‘ranting to himself'”, according to the Sun’s top story, after the former prince lost his title and was ordered to leave the Royal Lodge. Quoting insiders, the paper also writes his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson “pours out her heart to staff at a secret bar called The Doghouse”.
Under the headline “Trump goes to war on the BBC”, the Daily Telegraph quotes White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt commenting on a Panorama report on the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, which she said shows the BBC is a “leftist propaganda machine”. Leavitt described the editing of a Trump speech in the report as “further evidence that they [BBC] are total, 100 per cent fake news”. The BBC has said it is investigating issues raised about the programme.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves “will announce a stealth tax raid on retirement savings” in the forthcoming Budget, writes the Times. The paper says she is expected to “limit a tax break on pension contributions for both employers and employees to raise up to £2 billion a year”. It cites “concerns that it would penalise people for ‘trying to do the right thing’ and save for their retirement”.
“Labour MPs now plotting to oust Starmer,” is the headline of the i Paper, writing on the group in “despair about Labour poll ratings and the plan to break the manifesto by raising income tax in this month’s Budget”. The Labour MPs met at a private bar at the House of Commons, according to the paper, to discuss the “mechanics of a future coup”, while “Cabinet ministers urge caution”.
“Guinness socialite Lady Mary Charteris has sparked a war on her posh street after turning her fancy home into a real life ‘Barbie House’,” reports the Daily Star, after the DJ and model “decided to paint her pad bright pink”.
The Daily Express leads its weekend front page with a “Christmas appeal to help 1,000 children waiting for vital wheelchairs”, urging readers to “give the gift of freedom for every child”.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s living arrangements continue to lead some of the newspapers. The Sun reports he is spending his final weeks at Royal Lodge in Windsor “ranting to himself”. His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson is reportedly pouring her heart out to staff at a secret garden bar called the Doghouse. According to the Daily Mail, Mr Mountbatten Windsor is “playing hardball” before he leaves Royal Lodge. Insiders told the paper he wants a cook, a housekeeper, a secretary-cum-butler and gardeners for his new home on the Sandringham estate.
The i Weekend leads on claims Labour MPs are plotting to oust the prime minister. The paper says that while a challenge against Sir Keir Starmer is not imminent, conversations around his future have stepped up in recent weeks. The Times reflects similar sentiment, with the mood among some backbenchers reportedly bordering on “outright hostility”. The Daily Express says many Labour MPs are scared, after a poll this week put the party fourth behind Reform UK, the Greens and the Conservatives.
According to the Times, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning to use the Budget to announce a “stealth tax raid” on retirement savings. Reeves will reportedly limit a tax break on pension contributions for both employers and employees to raise up to £2bn pounds a year.
“Trump goes to war on the BBC”, writes the Daily Telegraph. The US president’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has accused the broadcaster of “purposeful dishonesty” over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump. The BBC has not responded to Ms Leavitt’s remarks.
There was near universal acclaim for Thursday night’s finale of Celebrity Traitors on BBC One. The letter from the editor in i Weekend describes the programme as “jaw-dropping and hilarious in equal measure”. The Daily Star says the “brilliant” series managed to surpass all expectations. The Guardian suggests the most impressive achievement was the show’s ability to get “Gen Z watching live television” and away from the “algorithmic fix of digital platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram”.
