What the papers say – August 16

Tuesday’s front pages carry the rape trial of Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy and the autumn rollout of a new Covid booster.

The Sun, Metro and the Daily Star all lead with court revelations about the professional footballer who is accused of eight counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to seven women.

The i reports on the UK becoming the first country in the world to authorise a Covid jab specifically tailored to protect against the Omicron variant, while The Independent has doctors raising “serious concerns” about the rollout due to Government funding cuts.

Tory frontrunner Liz Truss has vowed to fight off Scottish nationalists calling for another independence referendum, the Daily Express writes.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail leads with the recent announcement by Heathrow Airport to extend its daily passenger cap.

The cost-of-living crisis is making the final days of a dying mother a misery, the Daily Mirror says.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the Royal Navy is planning to end its role in charge of tackling Channel migrants.

China has cut a crucial lending rate in an effort to shore up growth as the world’s second-biggest economy is buffeted by repeated coronavirus lockdowns and a worsening property crisis, the Financial Times writes.

And The Guardian says ministers are planning to reduce redundancy pay for civil servants while cutting 91,000 Whitehall jobs which will set up a “bitter confrontation that unions warned may lead to legal and industrial action”.