Papers tot up UK's national debt

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A cartoon showing levels of national debt racked up by the government appears on the front page of <a class="inlineText" href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6840749.ece">the Times.</a>

It shows how over one day the total debt grows by £36m, according to the Office for National Statistics.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/money/2645554/Broke-Britain-borrows-6000-every-SECOND.html">The Sun says government borrowing of £6,000-a-second last month put pressure</a> on Gordon Brown to curb spending.

The paper compiles a handy "what we could have bought" guide which includes 10 aircraft carriers, 12 submarines or 1,200 Chinook helicopters.

'Bored teenagers'

Several papers report on the inquest into the deaths of a mother who took her life and that of her disabled daughter after a decade of bullying.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-thought-suicide-mother-overreacted-to-gang-attacks-1790036.html">The Independent says Fiona Pilkington called the police</a> more than 30 times in seven years, but officers did not respond because of a lack of resources.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/18/gang-torment-of-suicide-mum-115875-21682304/">The Mirror outlines the incidents</a> logged from taunts and theft to beatings.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/18/pilkington-family-barwell-leicestershire">The Guardian says neighbours agree bored teenagers</a> picked on the family because disability marked them out.

High-fliers

City minister Lord Myners has launched a broadside on bankers, accusing them of failing to show contrition for their role in the global financial crisis.

He tells <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6206958/Ministers-passing-the-buck-on-bank-bonuses-claims-city-chief.html">the Daily Telegraph that some bankers' bonuses are unacceptable</a> and the result of poor policing.

In the <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/60c140e2-a486-11de-92d4-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1">Financial Times, he scoffs at Barclays boss John Varley's comments</a> that the market for city high-fliers was like a search for the next Wayne Rooney.

He says traders' performances often relate to the strength of the institution they work for, not their personal skills.

Dark side

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/18/jedi-religion-tesco-hood-jones">The Guardian writes that Tesco is being accused of religious discrimination</a> by a Jedi Knight told to remove his hood while queuing in a store in Bangor.

Striking back, Tesco said Jedi Knights were welcome in all its stores.

Another clash riling the papers is that between ITV's X-Factor and the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, scheduled to go out at the same time later.

<a class="inlineText" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/09/18/simon-cowell-seething-over-xfactor-clash-with-strictly-come-dancing-115875-21684383/">The Mirror says X-Factor's Simon Cowell is seething</a> while <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2645502/Simon-Cowell-wants-to-resolve-clash-between-Strictly-Come-Dancing-and-The-X-Factor.html">he reveals in the Sun that his mum watches both shows.</a>