Newspaper headlines: 'Stricter' tiers loom, and PM faces legal action

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-55032180

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Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock are accused of acting "unlawfully" when awarding senior roles to three people in the UK's fight against coronavirus, the Observer reports, citing documents submitted by campaigners to the High Court. The case has been lodged by the Good Law Project and the Runnymede Trust. It concerns the appointment of Dido Harding as head of NHS Test and Trace, Mike Coupe to the role of director of testing at NHS Test and Trace and Kate Bingham to the post of head of the UK's vaccine task force. The claimants argue the appointments were made without advertising the positions.

The Sunday Telegraph joins several of Sunday's papers to lead on the news that the PM will announce on Monday that England's national lockdown will be replaced by a stricter three-tier system. The national lockdown is due to end on 2 December. The paper adds that mass testing will be carried out in areas where cases start to rise.

But the prospect of restrictions continuing after 2 December in England could cause the PM difficulty with his own backbench MPs, the Sunday Express reports, as they threaten to rebel. "Lockdown ultimatum" is the headline on the front of the paper. Some 70 Tory MPs have written to Mr Johnson ahead of a vote expected on Thursday, the paper adds. The rebels will reportedly refuse to support the new tier system unless evidence can be presented to show it can "save more lives than it costs".

The Mail on Sunday says the PM intends to extend pub opening hours until 11pm when England's national lockdown ends. Last orders will be called at 10pm, but people will get an extra hour to finish drinks and meals. There are hopes the plan will help prevent crowds congregating on the streets when pubs close.

"The fright before Xmas" is the headline on the front of the Sunday Mirror, which carries a warning from the PM that the festive season as we know it is off. Pubs and shops are expected to stay closed in areas hardest-hit by the virus, the paper adds, as scientists warn celebrations must be scaled back.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has signalled that taxes will have to start rising next year, the Sunday Times reports. He said that Britain is experiencing "economic shock" and cannot continue to borrow money "indefinitely" at such high levels. Mr Sunak said that, by the spring, he must start "returning to sustainable public finances", the paper adds. His comments come ahead of next week's Spending Review, during which, the Times says, an extra £3bn will be earmarked for the NHS.

Elsewhere, the Daily Star Sunday leads with a report that the BBC spent £350,000 on transport and hotel bookings that were never used, branding it "rank hypocrisy". It comes after the corporation scrapped the free licence fee for over-75s.

And the Sunday People carries a report from the brother of I'm A Celebrity contestant Giovanna Fletcher, Mario, who says that his sister came to his rescue after a "suicide bid".

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