The Papers: 'Don't be sorry, smile' and 'staggering rise' in child anxiety rates

Many papers lead with tributes to former England men's football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who has died at the age of 76. “Don’t be sorry, smile…it’s been fantastic” reads the main headline of the Metro, a reference to a comment he made in a new documentary about his life and career. Eriksson revealed in January that he had cancer and had a year to live at best.

That same quote from Eriksson is the main headline on the front cover of the Daily Mirror. The paper details how David Beckham, whom Eriksson made England captain after becoming manager in 2001, met his former boss to say goodbye. “We laughed, we cried. Thank you Sven,” says Beckham.

The Guardian’s tribute to Eriksson also features a David Beckham quote, describing Eriksson as “always passionate, caring, calm and a true gentleman”. The paper leads on a story detailing the “staggering” rise in anxiety among children, detailing official figures that show almost 4,000 children are being referred to NHS mental health services in England per week for anxiety. Doctors, NHS officials and health leaders have described the surge in anxiety referrals as “staggering” and “shocking”.

“Violent criminals allowed to just say sorry” reads the Daily Telegraph’s main headline. According to the accompanying article, more than 147,000 people accused of offences including sex crimes were handed community resolutions, which can involve an apology and do not result in a criminal record, rather than being prosecuted. A former police officer has told the Telegraph that the increase in knife crime made the use of community resolutions for knife possession especially troubling. The Telegraph also carries a photo of Eriksson on its front page.

The Times also leads on a crime story, with the headline “police have given up on punishing shoplifters”. The paper says analysis of official figures shows that the majority of police forces did not issue a single penalty for shoplifting over the year to March. The Home Secretary has reportedly said that the “shameful neglect” of shoplifting must end. There is also yet another tribute to Sven-Goren Eriksson, referring to the number of high-profile relationships he had that “made headlines outside the sports pages”.

The front page of the i newspaper features an investigation it has conducted into one of the UK’s largest care providers. Analysis by the newspaper has found that since Voyage Care was taken over by Kuwait in January 2022, around a third of its care homes have seen a drop in their performance ratings and 23 saw a drop in safety standards in assessments by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Voyage Care says that 89% of is locations in England have been rated either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC and that locations in Scotland and Wales are “100% compliant”.

“Top defence contractors poised for $52bn cash bonanza as orders soar” reads the main headline of the Financial Times, referring to the profit leading aerospace and defence companies are expected to make over the next three years as governments buy weapons at an increased rate due to heightened global tensions. The front page also features a denial by French President Emmanuel Macron that the arrest of Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov – known as the “Zuckerberg of Russia” - was politically motivated.

The Daily Mail leads on an exclusive about military training being cut back to save £400m to fund pay rises for troops. According to the paper, the changes will include soldiers pretending they are firing weapons rather than using live ammunition. The Ministry of Defence said the pay increase would be funded through “reprioritisation and saving measures”, adding that it would “never compromise the safety of our personnel”.

The Daily Express leads on comments by Reform UK MP Nigel Farage, who has accused the government of “making economic decisions on the basis of who will vote for them at the next election”. Mr Farage is backing the paper’s campaign calling for the reversal of cuts to winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. He has warned of other “shocks” to come in Labour’s October budget.

Quoting "cheery AI boffins", the main headline of the Daily Star reads “our last chance to stop psycho killer robots” - referring to comments made by an expert at Human Rights Watch. Mary Wareham is among those calling for restrictions on artificial intelligence-powered lethal autonomous weapons systems – known as Laws – which select and target locations without human intervention. Ms Wareham wants a decision on whether world leaders ban them or not to be taken at a United Nations summit next month.