The news that MPs on Friday voted in favour of a bill on assisted dying in England and Wales dominates Saturday’s front pages. The Daily Mirror has two sub headlines which jointly sum up the day – “Historic moment” and “Joy and sorrow as controversial bill passes first major hurdle”. The accompanying story quotes Kim Leadbetter, the MP who introduced the bill, as saying: “I’m nearly in floods because it’s a really emotional process.”
The issue has been one that the Daily Express has long been campaigning on, so it runs a message at the very top of its front page which reads: “Thanks to our three-year campaign with Dame Esther Rantzen, MPs have taken the first historic step to legalising assisted dying.” The main headline then quotes terminally ill Dame Esther’s hope that “Now future generations will be spared the ordeals we suffer”.
The Daily Mail’s headline describes the assisted dying vote as “A leap into the unknown”, and the paper makes room on its front page for an editorial comment calling for MPs to “focus on the wider implications” of the legislation.
The i weekend is also among those leading on assisted dying, reporting that with the affirmative vote on Friday, the practice is set to become law within three years. It says officials are expected to begin drafting a workable law after the bill passed the first stage in the Commons.
The Times describes the parliamentary session on assisted dying as “an emotional five-hour debate that split all the main parties”. It reports that ministers have been warned to remained neutral as months of detailed discussions get under way. Dominating the rest of the front page is a photo of the brightly lit-up interior of the “reborn” Notre Dame Cathedral, which has reopened in Paris five years after it was nearly destroyed by fire.
The Financial Times also marks the reopening of Notre Dame, with an image of the workers involved in the construction gathering inside to hear a speech from French President Emmanuel Macron. But the paper leads with a report on a week of billion-pound takeovers which it says underlines the UK’s position as a Europe’s foremost destination for mergers and acquisitions this year.
Continuing its coverage of allegations against Gregg Wallace, which it led with the previous day, the Sun reports further claims of allegations against the television personality. It says on Friday night, the BBC was “facing serious questions” after complaints from 12 years ago surfaced. Wallace’s lawyers have said it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.
The Daily Star’s front page also features a report on Gregg Wallace, reporting allegations from Ulrika Johnsson, who claims Wallace made a rape joke during her time on Masterchef.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is the subject of the lead story for the Daily Telegraph, speaking about giving up some Ukrainian territory currently controlled by Russia. He is quoted saying he would push for territory currently held by Ukraine to come “under [the] Nato umbrella”, and then later Ukraine “can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically”. Beside that report, Australian actress Cate Blanchett is pictured in a preview of an interview discussing a new film in which she plays German chancellor Hilda Orlmann.
