Storm Babet continues to make the front pages in Scotland as the cost of the floods becomes clearer. The Daily Record puts the cost at £500m for repairs to damaged properties.
The Scotsman writes that First Minister Humza Yousaf, who visited Brechin on Monday, has pledged support in the “long road to recovery”.
Residents in Dundee are “livid” with the council response during the extreme weather, and are calling for a barrier between their homes and Dighty Burn, the Evening Telegraph says.
The Courier reports that King Charles has sent a message of support to flood-ravaged Brechin, with “special thoughts and sympathy” for those affected by the disaster.
A crisis in Scotland’s fire service makes the front page of The Herald. It reports that cutting 1,500 firefighters in the past decade has led to an increased “threat to life”, with the Fire Brigade’s Union calling for an investigation.
The Scottish Daily Express reports that low morale, underinvestment and budget cuts by the Scottish government have impacted firefighters’ ability to respond to serous incidents.
The Edinburgh News leads with budget cuts to the fire service with a full page image of protesting firefighters. It says that a report has revealed the reduced funding undermines frontline staff.
The conflict in Gaza also features on Scotland’s front pages. The Times says Mr Sunak has declared that chants of “jihad” are a “threat to British democracy”, but also quotes Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley saying current legislation on extremism is insufficient and that his officers cannot “enforce taste and decency”. It also features a story about Storm Babet on its front page, noting that the floods were not predicted to hit at that level for another 60 years by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa).
France and other EU states have set up a “clash” with Britain and the US after calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper quotes French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne calling for a “humanitarian truce” and says the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has argued that a halt to bombing would allow more time to negotiate with Hamas for the release of hostages. By contrast, it reports that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said it would be “difficult” to push for a ceasefire while Israel is still facing regular rocket attacks, while US President Joe Biden has said all hostages need to be released before negotiations can begin.
The Daily Mail reports on “horrific” video screened by Israel on Monday that it says “proved the true barbarism of the Hamas terror attacks”. The paper says the images, downloaded from the bodycams and smartphones of the militants, were too graphic to publish but were shown to journalists in Tel Aviv, and that “several viewers were brought to tears”. It adds that some accounts of the attacks have been “subject to loud denials around the world” and quotes the Israeli government saying it released the footage to challenge the “Holocaust deniers of 2023”.
The i reports on the news that two elderly female hostages have been released from Hamas custody and says the US is thought to have advised Israel to delay launching its ground invasion of Gaza to allow more time for negotiations about the other people still being held.
The National reports that SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has told the prime minister that Israel is breaking the law on war crimes.
ITV has offered extra security for Jewish Coronation Street actress Dame Maureen Lipman after a surge in anti-Semitic hate, the Scottish Sun writes.
A coroner has found that a catalogue of 51 failures by probation staff contributed to a man’s murder of his partner and three children at a sleepover, according to The Metro. The paper says Damian Bendall killed Terri Harris, 35, her children Lacey, 11, and John Paul, 13, and Lacey’s friend, Connie Gent, 11, at Ms Harris’s home in September 2021. It says no safeguarding checks were carried out before Bendall was placed under curfew at the house despite the fact he had a “history of serious and violent” offences.
The Press and Journal reports on the death of a six-year-old boy after a swimming pool accident while on holiday. Ruaridh Nairne from Ness Castle school died in hospital in Paphos, Cyprus.
The Glasgow Times leads with calls for a city fireworks event to be reinstated.
An attacker dumped a man with a brain injury in a lift after a sustained beating, the Evening Express reports.
And the Daily Star says researchers have found mice surviving in ultra-thin air at the top of a volcano in Chile. The paper says that if the rodents can live in such an inhospitable environment then “they can live anywhere” and asks whether the discovery means there could be “mice on Mars”.
