Fears workers' dispute may worsen

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There is a consensus that the dispute over using foreign workers will escalate.

The Daily Telegraph thinks there is a threat of a national strike which could hit energy supplies this week.

The Times says fears of more wildcat action were fuelled after it emerged the British National Party was promoting the protests on its website.

The Daily Express accuses Business Secretary Lord Mandelson of fanning the flames by saying it would be wrong to keep British jobs for British workers.

Close-quarter combat

The Independent leads with an account of how British forces in southern Afghanistan are fighting in a highly dangerous Taleban-controlled area.

It says soldiers were in close-quarter combat, using farmhouses and irrigation channels to carry out ambushes.

A report acknowledging children do best if they are brought up by two parents with a long-term commitment to each other, is welcomed by the Daily Mail.

It attacks tax and benefits that make it more sense for couples to stay apart.

Ballooning costs

The Times devotes its front page to an investigation into the spiralling cost of Whitehall's major computer projects.

Plans for new computer systems are years behind schedule and have ballooned in cost, the paper writes.

The Guardian features the results of a three-month investigation into the tax avoidance schemes used by the country's biggest employers.

The secretive arrangements, it concludes, are leaving a multi-billion pound hole in the public finances.

'National Sickie Day'

With snow covering much of Britain, it is perhaps appropriate that today has been dubbed "National Sickie Day".

The Express reports the freezing weather, post Christmas blues and the long haul to summer will see more than 300,000 workers calling in sick.

The Scotsman wonders whether "National Sickie Day" should be made a public holiday in Scotland.

The paper reckons people would be more cheerful for no longer feeling guilty about taking the day off.