Global reaction to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s Alaska summit features prominently in Sunday’s papers. The Sunday Times leads with more details from the meeting, reporting that Putin offered to freeze the front lines in two Ukrainian provinces if Kyiv’s troops withdraw from the region of Donbas. The paper also previews President Volodymyr Zelensky heading to the White House on Monday to meet Trump.
The Sunday Telegraph follows with its coverage of “Putin’s land grab”, reporting that Trump “is inclined to support” Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrenders the mineral-rich Donetsk region to Russia in order to end the war. Elsewhere, the paper says Labour has renewed its “war on motorists” by dropping plans to limit new low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph hour zones. The Telegraph says Conservatives called the move “a kick in the teeth to motorists”.
Zelensky is “trapped in Trump and Putin vice”, declares the Mail on Sunday. The paper says world leaders fear that the Ukrainian president will be forced to give up swathes of his homeland for a “fragile peace” in his meeting on Monday with Trump. Elsewhere, the paper spotlights former PM Boris Johnson’s take on the Alaska meeting as “the most vomit inducing summit in diplomatic history”.
A warning from experts that the world is in “grave danger if West caves in to Putin” looms large on the Sunday Express. The paper quotes foreign policy experts who say the UK and Europe are at risk of “failing the greatest security challenge” since World War Two. It says critics fear that Trump’s race to secure a peace agreement “will reward Russia and put other nations at risk of invasion”.
The Sunday Mirror splashes on former Labour leader Neil Kinnock calling on the government to “scrap the two-child cap” to lift “60,000 kids out of poverty”. In an interview with the paper, Kinnock also says the Conservatives have left the country in a state of hardship that would “make Charles Dickens furious”.
The Observer features an op-ed from Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, in which she again defends the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group. She says it is more than just “a regular protest group known for occasional stunts”.
The Sun leads on the BBC’s probe into Strictly Come Dancing. The paper says the broadcaster has brought in police to investigate allegations surrounding the show. The BBC has not commented on the developments. BBC News has approached the Met Police for comment.
Finally, the Daily Star issues a warning of the “lager lout gulls”, saying drunken and rowdy seagulls have been snatching pints in parks and “picking fights with binmen”. The paper says the birds become aggressive after downing discarded drinks by people in parks and on beaches. So, litterers beware of a visit from these “beer swilling winged psychos”.
The Sunday Telegraph leads on the fallout from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s summit in Alaska. “Trump supports Putin’s land grab” reads the paper’s headline. The Mail on Sunday says Ukraine’s future as a sovereign nation hangs in the balance with its headline, “Zelensky trapped in Trump and Putin vice”. The Sunday Express quotes former defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps as saying Ukraine is at risk of being forced into what he called “a hollow deal”.
The former head of security at HMP Wandsworth in London had secret dealings with organised criminals, according to the Sunday Times. An investigation by the paper claims Bobby Cunningham met an alleged cocaine trafficker at his house, and was the subject of whistleblowing reports after transferring serious criminals to more lenient prisons. The paper says the 34-year-old was allowed to resign on medical grounds before being dismissed and receiving a compensation of around £160,000. Mr Cunningham – who didn’t respond to the Times’ request for comment – was forced to repay the money. The prisons service told the paper that it does not hesitate to take action when members of staff fall below its standards.
The former Labour leader, Neil Kinnock, has called for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped, according to the Sunday Mirror’s front page. In an interview, he has called for a wealth tax on the top one per cent of earners, which he says would lift 600,000 children out of poverty.
The Sun on Sunday says the BBC has called the police as part of an inquiry into Strictly Come Dancing, in what the paper calls “its biggest crisis”. It quotes a Metropolitan Police spokesperson, who says “the investigation is in its early stages”. It’s unclear what it relates to. The BBC says it doesn’t comment on police investigations.
The Mail on Sunday says researchers in the US are using artificial intelligence to pinpoint pregnant women’s exact due date. The paper says just 4% of babies are born on their due date in the UK. The AI tool – which was developed and trained using more than two million ultrasound images – was 92% accurate, according to the report.
