'They didn't have to die' and 'You're not the Messiah'

3 hours ago

News image — Several papers lead with the findings of the public inquiry into the 2024 Southport stabbing murder of three girls aged six to nine at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. "They didn't have to die" writes the Sun in its headline next to photos of victims Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar. "Girls failed by cops & authorities" and "killer's parents slammed in report" are the key findings from the inquiry reported by the paper.

"Southport murders inquiry: They didn't have to die," reads the headline on the front page of the Sun. — Several papers lead with the findings of the public inquiry into the 2024 Southport stabbing murder of three girls aged six to nine at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. "They didn't have to die" writes the Sun in its headline next to photos of victims Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar. "Girls failed by cops & authorities" and "killer's parents slammed in report" are the key findings from the inquiry reported by the paper.

"Killer's parents blamed for not stopping attack," reads the headline on the front page of the Metro. — The parents of Axel Rudakuban were "blamed for not stopping attack" is the Metro's headline, summarising the inquiry's findings. It adds that the parents "didn't stand up to his violence obsession and obstructed officials... but agencies failed too".

"As the Southport victims' families hear the attack would 'highly likely' not have happened if the killer's parents had spoken up, there are calls to... Now 'hold them to account' for their 'moral failure' to act," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Express. — The Daily Express leads with calls from the bereaved families for Rudakubana's parents to be "held to account" over their failures "to stop the killer". The inquiry found the parents "knew their son had large knives, the pulp of poison ricin and an obsession with violence", according to the paper.

"Southport killer's parents and police to blame for rampage," reads the headline on the front page of the Independent. — Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the murders, "should have been stopped by police, social services and the killer's parents, who failed to heed years of warning signs over his escalating obsession with violence", the Independent says.

"Southport killer's parents 'should have stopped him'," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mail. — The Daily Mail also focuses on the inquiry's finding that the Southport killer's parents "should have stopped him", adding that they had a "moral" duty and "knew their son was hoarding an arsenal of weapons, including machetes, for at least a year".

"Southport murders inquiry: This fight does not end today," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror. — "This fight does not end today" splashes the Daily Mirror, printed above photos of the three murder victims, writing "grieving parents vow to fight on" and "battle for change".

"'Catastrophic' failures by state led to Southport attack, inquiry finds," reads the headline on the front page of the Guardian. — Inquiry chair Sir Adrian Fulford condemned the "inappropriate merry-go-round" and "catastrophic" failures of state authorities to stop the Southport murders, the Guardian reports. Meanwhile, the paper also features the latest on the Middle East conflict, writing that "US begins blockade of ships using Iran's ports". It says the blockade turns "the six-week-old conflict between the US-Israeli coalition and Iran into a test of economic endurance."

"You're not the Messiah you're a very naughty boy," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Star. — "You're not the Messiah" writes the Daily Star, embedding an AI-generated image of Donald Trump appearing to heal a sick man in bed using Jesus-like imagery, which the US president shared on his Truth Social platform but has since deleted. The paper writes that he "surrendered in a war of words with the Pope".

"Trump repents his Jesus stunt," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. — "President deletes post saying he thought it was a doctor during heated row with 'weak and terrible' Pope," the Daily Telegraph reports. "Trump repents his Jesus stunt" is the paper's headline.

"Trump rolls the dice on blockading the Strait," reads the headline on the front page of the Times. — The Times leads with the "high-stakes" blockade of Iranian ports. "President tells Iran to allow tankers safe passage" through the Strait of Hormuz, the paper writes. The paper also features a separate headline, "Do the wash on a weekend and get free electricity", reporting on a scheme led by the National Energy System Operator "to reward households and businesses that increase their electricity use when there is an oversupply of energy".

"Ex-Nato chief Robertson hits out at Starmer 'complacency'," reads the headline on the front page of the Financial Times. — Former Nato Secretary General Lord George Robertson warns against "corrosive complacency" in the Financial Times' top story. "Lack of defence cash puts UK 'in peril'," it says, quoting Lord Robertson who will deliver the remarks in a lecture at Salisbury on Tuesday. In response, a defence official tells the paper "the government had set a target to spend 3 per cent GDP on defence by the end of the next parliament".

"UK passengers abandoned at EU airports in chaotic new Brexit checks," reads the headline on the front page of the i paper. — Finally, the i Paper reports on "chaotic new Brexit checks" leading to "UK passengers abandoned at EU airports". The paper says new border checks means some British tourists "turn up many hours early" to foreign airports "and still can't make their flights home".

The damning verdict of the Southport inquiry is the lead for the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Sun and the Mirror. "They Didn't Have to Die" is the Sun's headline, after the report found the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar would not have happened had the killer's parents intervened. The Daily Mirror says the parents of the three young victims have vowed to carry on the fight for change.

Comments by Lord Robertson, the former Nato secretary general, that Britain's leaders have shown a "corrosive complacency" towards defence are the lead in the Financial Times. The paper describes them as a "stinging rebuke" of the prime minister's defence policy.

The Times reports that households are going to be offered free electricity to do their laundry on "sunny weekends". It forms part of measures to help prevent the UK's power grid being swamped with surplus solar energy this summer. The paper says the National Energy System Operator will announce a scheme today to reward customers for using electricity at times when there is an over-supply.

If you're someone who avoids "small talk" because you find it boring – then new research, reported in the Guardian, may encourage you to think again. Academics at the University of Michigan ran a series of experiments to see how people responded to the prospect of a conversation on a topic that they personally considered dull - ranging from stock markets and Vegan diets, to Pokemon and onions. The paper says people consistently found the conversations more interesting than they had predicted - leading one of the researchers to conclude that a sense of connection, rather than the topic of conversation, was the most important thing.

President Donald Trump's deleted AI image - which appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ - is on many of the papers' front pages. Trump claimed he thought he looked like a doctor in the image where he has his hand on the forehead of a sick man. The Daily Star looks to Monty Python for its headline, "You're not the Messiah, you're a very naughty boy", it reads.

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'They didn't have to die' and 'You're not the Messiah'

Daily Express

Daily Mail

Daily Mirror

Daily Star

Daily Telegraph

Financial Times

Guardian

Independent

Metro

Sun

The i

Times