‘Burnham coup plot’ and Tories vow to ‘ditch ban on petrol cars’

According to the Sunday Times, the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has identified a seat at Westminster and wants to return as an MP before May’s local elections.

The Mail on Sunday calls it a “coup plot”. The paper says Burnham’s strategists have drawn up a potential list of seats including Greater Manchester, which is held by Andrew Gwynne.

A poll in the Sunday Express suggests Burnham has backing from the public, with one in three of those questioned saying he would make the best prime minister.

The Sunday Telegraph leads on the Conservatives’ pledge to scrap the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Writing in the paper, the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, says that pressing ahead with the policy puts the domestic car industry at a “disadvantage” while giving others the “opportunity to dominate global supply chains”. The Telegraph’s editorial urges the government to “consider showing some humility” and adopt the Tory policy.

“No place to hide for sex offenders”, is the message from the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, in the Sunday Mirror as she announces the expansion of specialist police units to bring them to justice.

According to the Sun on Sunday, Mahmood has also told officers and detectives to use counter-terror style technology to target rapists and stalkers.

The editorial in the Sunday Express describes the issue of violence against women and girls as a “true national emergency”, but warns this strategy “must not just be a public relations exercise”.

“To ban or not to ban”, asks the Observer, as it leads on Australia’s decision last week to stop under-16s from accessing social media. The paper says the “smart course” would be for Britain to follow suit, saying two-thirds of adults in the UK would support a ban too.

The Sunday Times warns that restrictions will not work without the participation of the US, which it says is “the country at the heart of the problem”.