Newspaper headlines: Brits pack beaches as travellers 'kept in dark'

  • Published
Daily Mirror front page
Image caption,
Brits packed out beaches on what was the hottest August day in 17 years, sparking travel chaos and more coronavirus fears, reports the Daily Mirror. The paper notes that as temperatures hit 36.4C, there were traffic jams and concerns about whether social distancing was being adhered to.
Image caption,
The UK could be on course for a heatwave record, says the i. The paper says the forecast is for the hottest three-day spell since 1990. It comes as big crowds were seen at beaches, lakes and parks.
Image caption,
The Daily Telegraph reports a warning from MPs that holidaymakers are being “left in the dark” by a “grossly unfair” lack of transparency on quarantine restrictions. It comes as some travellers cancelled trips over fears France will be placed on the government’s list of countries requiring people to quarantine for 14 days on their return to the UK.
Image caption,
The Guardian leads on revelations that nearly 40% of A-level grades submitted by teachers are to be downgraded when exam results in England are published next week. According to an analysis by the paper, that will result in nearly 300,000 A-levels being lower than teacher assessments.
Image caption,
In other coronavirus news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak's stamp duty cut propelled the housing market to its highest values of all time, reports the Daily Express. The paper says prices "rocketed" by 3.8% year-on-year in July to record highs.
Image caption,
The Daily Mail says its charity, Mail Force, has raised £11m and provided more than 30 million pieces of personal protective equipment to the nation. The paper says the achievement was reached 100 days after its first delivery to the coronavirus frontline.
Image caption,
Ministers are considering blocking migrant boats in the Channel before they can enter British waters, according to the Times. The paper says the approach - part of what it calls an "increasingly desperate effort" to stem the rising number of crossings - is modelled on Australian tactics used against migrants from Indonesia.
Image caption,
The Financial Times leads with Donald Trump's imposition of sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials and barring of US companies from doing business with leading Chinese technology companies. The paper says it is an "unprecedented move" and a sharp escalation of his campaign against Beijing.
Image caption,
And finally, the sister of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has claimed to have been visited by the ghost of the socialite, reports the Daily Star. A former "It girl", Palmer-Tomkinson died in 2017.

Suggestions that ministers are considering sending Royal Navy vessels to intercept migrant boats in the Channel before they enter British waters find little favour in the papers.

Government sources quoted in the Times warn that the political consequences of an interception that leads to drownings would be disastrous.

A Ministry of Defence source is said to have described the plan as "completely potty".

A Royal Navy source tells the Daily Mail: "There isn't any more we can do than what the Border Force is doing."

Image source, PA Media

The Guardian says it has learned that nearly 40% of A-level grades submitted by teachers are to be downgraded when results in England are published by the exam regular, Ofqual, next week.

According to the paper, those most at risk of receiving what it calls "unfair grades" appear to be students on the border between B and C grades, and between C and D.

Pupils at comprehensive schools with wide variations in attainment or patchy outcomes in courses over the past three years are also likely to be disappointed.

The Daily Telegraph reports that British tourists in France are returning home early to avoid a possible quarantine - because of the uncertainty about whether the country will be removed from the UK's list of safe destinations.

The owner of a complex of 100 villas in south-west France tells the paper that bookings have been cancelled.

The Telegraph says senior Tory MPs have urged the government to be as transparent as possible about the criteria being used to judge which countries require quarantine so that travellers are not kept in the dark.

The Guardian reports that Jeremy Corbyn has accused Labour officials of trying to sabotage the party's 2017 general election campaign out of factional hostility to his leadership.

Image source, PA Media

The Independent online paper also covers the story, reporting a submission from Mr Corbyn and his top allies prepared for a Labour internal inquiry.

According to the paper, the document says that given the party was less than 2,500 votes in key seats away from forming a government, it is not impossible that Jeremy Corbyn might now be in his third year as prime minister.

The papers are full of pictures of packed beaches in the south of England on the hottest August day for 17 years.

The weather makes the lead for the i and the Mirror - which has the headline: "Sun, sea and standstill".

Image source, PA Media
Image caption,
Many of the papers featured images of Brits packing out beaches

The Daily Telegraph says roads leading to Bournemouth were gridlocked and visitors were reported to have arrived at the beach as early as three in the morning to bag the best spots.

The Daily Mail notes that social distancing was a rare sight.

Finally, there's plenty of interest in ITV's decision to move this year's I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! from the Australian jungle to a castle in the UK because of the pandemic.

But the question for the Telegraph - is: "Get me out of where?"

A cartoon in the i dares to hope that the as-yet-undisclosed location will be Barnard Castle in County Durham - with the prime minister's senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, as one of the contestants.

There is plenty of speculation about the location - but the Sun claims to have the answer... a castle in North Wales.