The fallout after a former asylum seeker who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl was mistakenly released from prison dominates Saturday’s papers. The Sun calls the blunder “one out… by mistake”, playing off the government’s “one in, one out” asylum scheme. The paper reports Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was due to be deported before being released after an “astonishing error” by prison staff.
The Daily Telegraph says police are scrambling to track down the sex offender who was let out of HMP Chelmsford after being wrongly categorised as a prisoner due to be freed. Justice Secretary David Lammy says he is “furious” and has ordered an “urgent investigation” into the error, the paper reports. Elsewhere, a picture of Boris Johnson’s ex-wife Marina Wheeler is front and centre, who poses the question “I’m over him, surely Britain is too?”
“A blunder that beggars belief” is the Daily Mail’s take. Police say Kebatu was last seen asking for directions from locals before boarding a London-bound train at Chelmsford station on Friday, the paper reports. Sharing the front page, the Mail says that Prince Andrew could be asked to leave the Royal Lodge by King Charles III.
The Mirror also leads with Prince Andrew’s “advanced talks” with the King to leave the Royal Lodge after the fallout from his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Dislodged” is the paper’s headline over an aerial view of Windsor’s sprawling Royal Lodge mansion.
A “stark warning for Starmer” after Labour suffered a “crushing” by-election defeat in its traditional heartland of Wales on Friday, the Guardian reports. The paper says the result highlighted the “striking collapse” of the party’s vote, with MPs warning a repeat loss in the 2026 May local elections “could spell the end” of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership. Alongside, the Guardian previews Claudia Winkleman’s “next steps” after she and fellow Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly announced they were leaving the show.
“Starmer in firing line” echoes the Independent’s headline on the government’s “historic by-election defeat” in Caerphilly. The paper reports the PM saying he was “deeply disappointed” with the result. Also sharing the top spot is the King’s “royal welcome” for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday ahead of a summit with European allies in London.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to give more than a million low-paid workers a pay boost in the budget, the Times reports. The paper says Reeves has been warned by businesses the move would risk “pricing jobs out of existence”.
The i follows with more warnings from economists for the chancellor, who say raising the higher rate of income tax would hit “ordinary workers”, including teachers and junior doctors. The paper reports Reeves is considering “breaking Labour’s manifesto pledge to give herself some breathing space on public spending”.
“Trump sets off fresh tariffs alarm” is the Financial Times’ lead, after Donald Trump “cleared the way for new tariffs” on China and halted trade talks with Canada on Friday. The paper says the decisions come ahead of Trump’s upcoming trip to Asia, which includes a summit in South Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Finally, the Daily Star is asking their readers who they want as Strictly Come Dancing’s next hosts. The top names in the running include presenters Rylan Clark and Zoe Ball, with “Lettuce Liz Truss” also making a surge with 8% of the vote.
Many papers feature the Epping asylum seeker jailed for sexual assault who has been released from prison by mistake.
The Daily Telegraph calls it a “jail blunder”, with the Daily Mail saying the error “beggars belief”.
The Times quotes the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accusing Labour of “putting predators back on the streets”, and highlights Sir Keir Starmer’s response on X in which he said he was “appalled by the mistake”.
Prince Andrew still features prominently in many newspapers.
The Guardian is among those reporting that he is in advanced talks with Buckingham Palace about leaving his 30-room mansion, Royal Lodge, as pressure grows following fresh revelations about him in the posthumous memoirs of Virgina Guiffre.
“Dislodged,” says the Daily Mirror’s headline. Prince Andrew has consistently denied claims by Ms Guiffre that he sexually abused her.
The Times reports that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to give more than a million low paid workers a pay rise in next month’s budget by increasing the national living wage.
But the paper says economists and the hospitality industry have warned it could lead to job losses and it quotes the Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s, Simon Roberts, saying it could result in price rises for shoppers.
Labour is planning to let trade unions “barge” into workplaces under the new employment rights bill, according to documents seen by the Daily Telegraph. It says a Department of Business and Trade consultation paper states employers with more than 21 workers will face big fines if they block access to officials.
A spokesman for the department says it is not true that the bill would allow unions to turn up when they wanted.
And a pledge by the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, to abolish business rates for a quarter of a million retailers is the main story for the Daily Express.
It says the promise – part of a four-pronged plan – will kickstart a High Street boom if the party were in power to implement it. Labour says it is also creating a fairer business rates system.
