Several papers, including the i, report on the crisis sparked by high gas prices. The paper says energy firms are pushing for the price cap on bills to be scrapped or increased if they are forced to take on households that have been stranded without a supplier. Several companies have collapsed since wholesale prices soared. The paper claims people in the UK could be left without turkey on Christmas Day because of the knock-on effect the gas crisis is having on the availability of CO2, which is used in food production.
“Watt crisis” says the Metro’s headline as it reports that UK Energy Minister Alok Sharma insisted there was no immediate concern over gas supplies in the UK and the government did not see any risks going into winter.
Taxpayers face paying for a multi-billion-pound bailout of energy companies, according to The Times. The paper says the UK government is in talks with the industry over how to deal with the predicted collapse of dozens of small suppliers as the price of gas and electricity takes a massive hike.
Scotland’s ambulance crisis is the subject of The Herald’s front page. The paper says the situation will “get worse” and see fewer that 60% of the most life-threatening calls responded to within eight minutes if there is not significant investment in the service. It quotes information from internal ambulance service documents, obtained through a freedom of information request.
The Scottish Daily Mail is demanding more face-to-face GP appointments in a new campaign. The paper says a string of distressing cases has heightened fears that cancers and other serious illnesses are being missed due to increasing numbers of remote appointments.
However, The Herald says that GPs are struggling to cope with unprecedented demand for their time. A doctor tells the paper the number of patients he deals with has doubled since before the pandemic and that the situation is only going to get worse under winter pressure.
The Daily Record claims to have uncovered a “bizarre plan” to break into a prison in protest at the conviction of Luke Mitchell for murdering Jodi Jones 17 years ago. The paper says whistleblowers have contacted them, alarmed at the scheme being plotted by campaigners who believe Mitchell is innocent. It is not known if Mitchell, who was 16 when convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2005, is aware of the stunt.
The Daily Telegraph pictures Prime Minister Boris Johnson boarding a plane to the US where he will meet the President on Monday. The paper says the PM will push Joe Biden to change travel rules and make an “impassioned case” for why fully-vaccinated people in the UK should be able to travel to America.
The same picture graces the cover of the Scottish Daily Express, but the main story claims campaigners have launched a “last-ditch plea” to save the pension triple lock. Under the triple formula, pensions increase by inflation, the increase in earnings between May and July or 2.5%, whichever is the greater. But in September the government confirmed it had suspended the triple lock for a year, fuelling speculation about whether it will be scrapped.
Two huge losses to showbiz make the papers on Monday – the Scottish Sun leads with the death of football great and TV favourite Jimmy Greaves. The former England footballer died aged 81. He was a renowned striker, and much-loved as one half of TV pundit pair Saint and Greavsie.
“Goodbye Boycie” is the headline in the Daily Star of Scotland as it pays tribute to actor John Challis who played barman Terrance “Boycie” Boyce in sitcom Only Fools and Horses. The star died at the age of 79 after a long battle with cancer.
The Courier warns that a “tidal wave” is imminent that will force families into poverty. It reports that the £20 cut in universal credit, due next month, will combine with rising food prices caused by Brexit to cause more families to seek food and support.
The P&J leads with Saturday’s paraglider collision in the Highlands. A man died and a woman was seriously hurt when two paramotors crashed south of Ullapool. Police are investigating what happened.
BBC drama Vigil makes the front of The National which claims that unionists are on “red alert” after Labour’s deputy Scottish leader criticised the BBC for employing a former submariner turned anti-nuclear campaigner as a senior script consultant on the naval drama Vigil.
Monday’s Evening Express leads with a story about a pharmacist who was “fooled” into laundering money for criminals carrying out bank fraud.
The Glasgow Times gets a preview of a major regeneration of Sighthill, an area once synonymous with deprivation. It says the area which was home to 10 massive high-rise blocks is “taking shape” with people beginning to move into the new modern housing.
And the Edinburgh Evening News predicts a battle over the city’s greenbelt as city leaders debate which areas to earmark for new housing to be built in the next decade.
