What the papers say – April 26

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s take-over of Twitter is one of the topics leading the front pages on Tuesday.

26 April 2022

The nation’s papers overwhelmingly focus on the 44 billion US dollar (£34.5 billion) Twitter take-over from the world’s wealthiest person, Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“Musk pays a tweet £35bn for Twitter,” Metro quips.

The Guardian adds the sale puts Mr Musk in charge of a company that he has frequently criticised. The paper also reports that Health Secretary Sajid Javid is being urged to change the law to let pharmacists alter prescriptions during medicine shortages.

The Independent carries the Twitter take-over as well as the fall-out from an anonymous Tory MP’s “misogynistic” attack on Angela Rayner. The newspaper says parliament’s most senior female MP, Harriet Harman, has demanded changes to the Commons code of conduct to make misogyny an offence punishable by suspension from the house.

The Financial Times says the Tesla chief has been “unblocked” while its splash also details a big fall in UK trade ties with the EU.

Elsewhere, The Daily Telegraph writes that lockdown and social distancing have been linked to a “worrying” surge of hepatitis cases in young children. Officials attribute the surge in cases to the lack of exposure to common infections during children’s “formative” years.

The Times reports that an “unprecedented surge” in demand for passports is putting millions of Britons’ summer holidays at risk due to huge processing delays, with ministers warning people to get applications in “as soon as possible”.

“PM’s bonfire of policies to placate angry Tories,” the i says in its front-page exclusive, reporting that Boris Johnson is planning to abandon many of his proposed bills to avoid “stoking rebellion” within his party.

The Daily Mirror covers the stabbing death of four people in south London on Monday morning, reporting that one of the victims was a grandmother

The Daily Express reports that Britain will get an extra day off with Mr Johnson “poised to approve a new Thank Holiday” to honour the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail writes that GPs are set to to vote on cutting their opening hours from 9am to 5pm.

And the Daily Star has the “invasion of the very hungry but very, very, very slow caterpillars” on its front page in reference to a report that “poisonous caterpillars” are “invading Britain”.