The Papers: ‘Goodbye darling Derek’ and Post Office probe
Image caption, A number of Saturday’s papers lead on the death of Derek Draper, the author and former political adviser. He had been living with extreme complications from Covid since contracting the disease in March 2020. The Daily Mirror leads on tributes by his wife, TV presenter Kate Garraway, who said she was “so lucky to have you in my life”.
Image caption, The Daily Star also leads on tributes to Draper, quoting Garraway – who is pictured with her husband in the paper’s main image – as saying “Rest gently now Derek, my love”.
Image caption, The Daily Express also reports on Draper’s death, leading with an image of him with Garraway. It describes a “heartbroken” Garraway as calling her husband “darling” Derek. It also has a tribute to Starsky and Hutch actor David Soul who has died at the age of 80.
Image caption, Draper’s death is also the main story on the front page of the Sun, with a past image showing Garraway holding her husband’s hand, next to the headline “I held Derek’s hand to the end”.
Image caption, A smiling Draper with Garraway is also the main image on the front page of the Times, although its main story says that the Met Police has confirmed that the Post Office is under criminal investigation over the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters as part of the Horizon IT scandal between 2009 and 2015. The paper reports that it’s not clear if the investigation relates to individual staff or the Post Office as a corporate entity.
Image caption, The Daily Telegraph leads on the news that Chris Skidmore, a former minister, is quitting as a Conservative MP over the government’s energy plans. He quit ahead of a vote on a bill on Monday to guarantee annual oil and gas licensing rounds. The Telegraph said he launched a “scathing attack” on the government’s green policies
Image caption, The i weekend leads on a story about rats “infesting UK towns and cities” as bin collection services have been delayed by up to three weeks, due to bank holidays, storms and flooding. Its front page also previews a story from its sport section, reporting that England rugby player Owen Farrell is “in talks to turn his back on English rugby” – French club Racing Metro has denied having an agreement to sign the Saracens fly-half.
Image caption, The main story on the front page of the FT Weekend reports that the British Library is struggling to recover from a cyber attack in October. The paper reports that the cost of rebuilding most of its digital services could cost £7m, consuming about 40% of its reserves. The paper’s main image shows a farmer in Tequila, Mexico, cutting an agave plant to extract the pineapple used to make tequila. The paper reports that the drink is falling out of favour
