'No money for new weapons' and 'Cost of pint hits £10'
There's a mix of stories on Monday's front pages. The Daily Telegraph leads with data that shows more than 600,000 households received more in welfare payments than the average worker's salary. The paper says the analysis done by the Conservative Party will provoke calls for overhauling the benefits budget as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces pressure to cut welfare spending to boost the defence budget. Alongside, the Telegraph's picture spot features bank holiday revellers raising a pint as the paper reports a surge in the cost of a round of beers and even non-alcoholic drinks. "Cost of pint hits £10 in London for first time," the headline says.
The Times says the EU has told the UK to make annual payments of £1bn for access to the bloc's single market. European negotiators want Sir Keir to make the concession as part of the "reset" with the EU. Elsewhere, the paper reports a lack of defence funding has left the UK military "no money to buy new weapons until 2030", citing a former military chief.
The state pension guarantee could be scrapped should the UK go to war with Russia, the i Paper reports. According to "government insiders" quoted by the paper, high-profile spending such as triple lock, net zero policies and benefits would need to be scaled back if the two countries fought each other.
The Guardian shifts its focus to AI facial recognition systems. The UK's biometrics watchdogs are warning that national oversight of AI-powered face scanning is lagging "far behind" the technology's growth. The paper quotes an expert who says the cameras are "nowhere near as effective as the police claim it is", with members of the public wrongly identified as suspected criminals saying there was "no accountability or recourse to complain".
"Cheers to you" toasts the Daily Express as it pictures a group of World War Two veterans raising a glass before embarking on a pilgrimage to honour their fallen friends.
The Independent features forensics teams on scene after an explosion in Bristol killed two people and injured three others. Police say the blast was "suspicious" but is not being treated as a terrorist incident.
In another potential rise in costs, parking fines could "double" under new proposals being considered by Labour, according to the Daily Mail. Ministers are reportedly looking into findings of a trial in which a council hiked parking tickets to £160, when tickets issued outside London are currently capped at £70, the paper reports.
"Reform in new race row" says the Daily Mirror. One of the party's Welsh candidates has called out a social media post by fellow member Arron Banks as "abhorrent racism", the paper reports. Banks' post was in response to a Plaid Cymru video which was fronted by a black community organiser. Banks hasn't responded to a request for comment but said previously that it was a "joke" and Plaid Cymru had "lost their sense of humour".
Banks are in looking for new ways to offload risks tied to financing AI data centres, according to the Financial Times. The paper says the efforts come amid an "unprecedented scale of borrowing" and the pressure it is putting on lenders.
The Daily Star offers a health update on former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who was taken to hospital by ambulance after feeling unwell at the game against Liverpool at Old Trafford. Sir Alex is understood to be recovering, the paper adds.
In more football news, the Sun reports the forthcoming World Cup footballs costing up to £130 each are being made by workers earning as little as £26 a week. "What a World Cup stitch-up" says the papers headline.
