'United King Don' and 'PM battles to block sleaze vote'

2 hours ago

News image — King Charles III and Queen Camilla's state visit to the US dominates Tuesday's papers. The Times' top picture features the King and Queen greeted by US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House. The paper previews the King's address to the US Congress later saying he will deliver a "message of unity" and remind Washington of the shared "democratic, legal and social" values of the two nations. Elsewhere, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is trying to shore up support ahead of a critical Commons vote on whether there should be a parliamentary investigation over his claims about the vetting of Lord Mandelson, the Times reports.

The headline on the front page of the Times reads: "PM battles to block sleaze vote." — King Charles III and Queen Camilla's state visit to the US dominates Tuesday's papers. The Times' top picture features the King and Queen greeted by US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House. The paper previews the King's address to the US Congress later saying he will deliver a "message of unity" and remind Washington of the shared "democratic, legal and social" values of the two nations. Elsewhere, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is trying to shore up support ahead of a critical Commons vote on whether there should be a parliamentary investigation over his claims about the vetting of Lord Mandelson, the Times reports.

The headline on the front page of the Guardian reads: "PM pleads for unity among Labour MPs over critical Mandelson vote." — "PM pleads for unity among Labour MPs", says the Guardian as it reports Sir Keir has told his party to "stick together and fight together" before what the paper says is a "critical day" for his premiership. It adds that the PM faces the "twin threats" of a standards investigation into Lord Mandelson's appointment and potentially damaging testimony from the former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph reads: "Starmer pleads with MPs to save him." — The Daily Telegraph goes with "Starmer pleads with MPs to save him", saying the PM told Labour MP's in a meeting that the vote on Tuesday is "a pure political stunt" by the opposition who want to "bring us down". The paper also provides more details on the King's speech to US Congress, reporting that the address will call for the US and UK to "come together" and include references to Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Aukus defence pact.

The headline on the front page of the Independent reads: "Starmer faces vote on inquiry into misleading MPs." — The Independent says the King faces a "tricky task with Trump" during his state visit with a number of contentious issues, including Iran, the Falklands and Ukraine.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Mail reads: "Starmer's stitch-up to save his own skin." — Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is urging Labour MPs to "put country before party" and back the vote for a probe on Lord Mandelson's vetting, the Daily Mail reports. Writing in the paper, Badenoch tells Labour backbenchers that they are "not in the Commons simply to protect the PM from embarrassment".

The headline on the front page of the Daily Express reads: "PM is 'putting welfare ahead of UK national security'." — The Daily Express features more criticism of the PM, saying he is being accused of putting funding for benefits claimants ahead of money for defence. The paper cites figures that show it will take 13 years for the government to deliver on its promise to boost the reserve armed forces.

The headline on the front page of the i Paper reads: "King's warning to America: Charles urges US president and Congress to stick with Europe." — The i Paper describes the King's address to US Congress as "a warning to America to stick with Europe". It also quotes insiders who say to expect an "extra amount of warmth" from the King, but "he won't be afraid to voice his opinions in private".

The headline on the front page of the Daily Star reads: "King of Steel." — The Daily Star says security is at an all-time high during the King's state visit just days after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The headline on the front page of the Sun reads: "United King Don." — "United King Don" is the Sun's headline as it also splashes its front page with the King and Queen alongside the US president and First Lady.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror reads: "Peace envoy." — The Daily Mirror calls the US state visit the "King's American mission", describing him as a "peace envoy".

The headline on the front page of the Metro reads: "Iran embassy in chilling call for 'martyrs'." — Iran's embassy in the UK has called for its citizens to become "martyrs" and "sacrifice life for homeland" amid the ongoing war with the US and Israel, the Metro reports. It says the message was posted on social media asking for expats in the UK to register their involvement. However, a spokesperson for the Iranian Embassy told Metro that the message "does not promote any form of hostility" and "any claims or assumptions to the contrary are simply unfounded".

The headline on the front page of the Financial Times reads: "Meta's $2bn swoop on Manus blocked in warning from Beijing over AI deals." — Finally, the Financial Times reports that China has blocked Meta's $2bn (£1.48bn) acquisition of AI app Manus, ordering the tech giant to unwind its bid. The paper says the move could be intended as a warning by Beijing for similar deals in future as the US and China "vie for dominance over emerging technology".

Almost all of the front pages carry photographs of King Charles III and Queen Camilla meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House, at the start of their state visit to the US.

The Daily Mirror focuses on hopes that the trip will ease strained transatlantic relations by calling the visit the King's "American mission" and describing him as a "peace envoy". The Sun's headline reads "United King Don".

The Times looks ahead to the King addressing the US Congress. The paper says he's expected to deliver a "message of unity". The i Paper says he'll use his speech to warn America "to stick with Europe". It also quotes insiders who expect the King to show an "extra amount of warmth" throughout his trip, but they say: "He won't be afraid to voice his opinions in private."

The Daily Telegraph leads on the prime minister's future, reporting that Sir Keir Starmer has "pleaded" with Labour MPs to vote against a bid to hold an inquiry into the Lord Mandelson vetting row. The Guardian says ministers have launched a "massive operation" to shore up his position. The Times reports that allies of Sir Keir are "increasingly confident" they have seen off "the prospect of a mass rebellion". But the Daily Mail warns that defeat for the prime minister in Tuesday's vote "would throw his floundering government into a tailspin, and could eventually see him forced from office".

Many of the papers report on the Archbishop of Canterbury praising Pope Leo for speaking out against injustice as the pair met at the Vatican. "United for peace" is the Daily Mirror's headline. The Daily Telegraph says Dame Sarah Mullally described praying with the Pope during a private meeting as a "joy and privilege".

The Times highlights a study which says chips pinched from someone else's plate taste better. Researchers at the Russian Medical Academy found that even though nothing changed about the fries during their experiments, those obtained through stealth were perceived to be saltier and crispier, leading the paper to argue what's forbidden is the tastiest.

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'United King Don' and 'PM battles to block sleaze vote'

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