Newspaper review: 'Blood on their hands' and 'Fantastic 4'

BBC News,Staff
Reuters A person lights a candle to offer condolences over the deaths of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and others, outside the Iranian embassy, in BaghdadReuters
Candles lit to offer condolences over the deaths of Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi and others

The Daily Mirror says the infected blood report will shock the nation when it's released on Monday. "Blood on their hands" is the paper's headline.

The Daily Telegraph expects the report to heavily criticise individuals and organisations. Rishi Sunak will, according to the paper, apologise for the scandal, and express regret and horror that victims were failed by successive governments.

The Guardian expects the report to recommend prosecutions, while the Times highlights persisting concerns from victims' families that a compensation scheme will take too long to set up - given, the paper says, that a victim of the scandal is estimated to die every four days.

All of the papers cover the search for the president of Iran but their editions were published before news broke that the wreckage of his helicopter had been found.

The Times says that if the death of Ebrahim Raisi is confirmed, elections would be held within two months.

Considering his legacy, many of the papers note his role in the deaths of thousands of political activists in the 1980s.

The Financial Times says Ebrahim Raisi eased long-running tensions about the extent of the power of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.

Reuters Images of victims of the contaminated blood scandal are displayed during a vigil to remember those that lost their lives, ahead of the release of final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry on Monday, in London, Britain, May 19, 2024.Reuters
Images of victims of the contaminated blood scandal displayed at a vigil in London

The Times reports that Labour is considering allowing a single family doctor to sign off on gender-recognition certificates. The party has been looking at ways to simplify the process and the paper says the issue would go out to consultation, if Labour won the next election. The proposals involve ditching the panel of doctors and lawyers that currently decides whether gender recognition certificates can be granted. Ministers tell the Times that Labour should "allow professionals to do their job properly".

The Financial Times says allies of the US are "warming" to an American plan to rush $50bn ($39bn) worth of extra funding to Ukraine. A source tells the paper that under the proposals - to be discussed at a G7 summit next month - the money would be sent prior to a possible election victory by Donald Trump, who has opposed American aid for Ukraine.

Rishi Sunak and the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, write jointly in the i paper, highlighting the potential for AI to cure diseases. The men laud a trial taking place in the UK, of an AI-powered breast cancer detection system, which uses image-reading software developed by a Korean firm. The paper says the prime minister is due to attend a virtual meeting of world leaders on AI later this week, as a follow-up to the gathering held at Bletchley Park last year.

The front and back pages picture the Manchester City squad celebrating with the Premier League trophy, after Sunday's title win. Puns on a fourth successive league triumph abound - for the Daily Star, it's "Eu-four-ia". But some of the papers raise concerns. The Telegraph believes a "season of reckoning awaits" because of uncertainty surrounding Pep Guardiola's future at the club and the financial case being brought against Manchester City by the Premier League. And the Guardian's Jonathan Liew says City's dominance has made the idea of a genuine title chase into a myth. "See you all back here again in twelve months," he says.

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