Papers unpick Brown's performance

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8438873.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Most of the daily papers begin their week by poring over Gordon Brown's performance on the Andrew Marr show.

The <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.ft.com/home/uk">Financial Times</a> sees his description of Tory policy as a refusal to invest as a win for Education Secretary Ed Balls over Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.

The Independent portrays a remark on an "agreement of ideas" with the Lib Dems, as an <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/pm-paves-way-for-deal-with--lib-dems-in-hung-parliament-1856888.html">overture</a> amid expectations the party could hold the balance of power.

And the <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/">Daily Telegraph</a> complains the opening salvoes of the election have done little to lift the spirits.

Rampant benefits

The main story for the <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.express.co.uk/home">Daily Express</a> is a forecast that housing benefit payments will rise by 15% to more than £20bn over the next year.

The Daily Mail wonders how much longer MPs can stay in denial over how <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1240285/Family-receives-279-000-housing-benefits-despite-Labour-pledge-curb-excessive-claims.html">public spending is careering out of control.</a>

Times columnist Ross Clark says part of the blame must go to Labour's reform of housing benefit two years ago.

But the origin of the problem, he believes, lies in <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article6974622.ece">Margaret Thatcher's sale of social housing.</a>

'Black Monday?'

The Sun says the leader of an Islamic group has <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2792751/Hate-mail-cleric-writes-to-tell-grieving-families-their-heroes-died-in-vain.html">written to parents of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan</a> telling them that their children died in vain.

Anjem Choudary has already said he plans to walk through Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire with members of his group carrying empty coffins.

Meanwhile, motoring groups fear a "Black Monday" on Britain's icy roads.

The Daily Mirror says - under the headline <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/01/04/britain-facing-coldest-winter-for-30-years-and-temperatures-could-reach-18-115875-21940316/">"Coldest for 30 Years"</a> - that we could be in for 15 days of icy hell.

Prince Charmless

Finally, when Prince Charming came on stage for a performance of Cinderella in Lowestoft, the Daily Mail says he quickly became <a class="inlineText" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1240223/Panto-actor-caught-criticising-host-town-Twitter.html">the lead villain.</a>

Actor Owen Woodgate, was heckled after exactly what he had written on the internet about the Suffolk town emerged.

The paper reports that he said the town was a "hole" where everyone was pregnant and hoodies dominated the streets.

Mr Woodgate has apparently since changed the comments, saying his first impressions were way off the mark.