The BBC this morning are marking the launch of this year’s Poppy Appeal and featured an interview with Sapper Lydon Chatting-Walters who talked about the work undertaken using money raised by poppy sales. There is also extensive coverage across the papers of yesterday’s news that two boats containing migrants have arrived at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
Cyprus Migrants
A number of today’s papers including The Times, Daily Mirror and The Sun report on yesterday’s top story, that two boats containing migrants arrived at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
The Times leads with the asylum angle and writes that British diplomats were last night in talks with Cyprus over who should take responsibility for the 114 migrants. The article contains soundbites from some of the migrants, who say that many of them have travelled from Syria and are escaping the ‘war and terrible situation’ in the country. The article also highlights that the Home Office said there was ‘no possibility’ of refugees arriving at the base being able to claim asylum in the UK, and that all travellers would be handed over to the Cypriot authorities.
The Guardian and the Daily Mail say that a ‘diplomatic row’ has been sparked over which country should take responsibility for the refugees and a similar sentiment appears in the The Sun, while the Daily Telegraph writes that Britain and Cyprus ‘haggle’ over the care of the migrants.
Inter-operability
Following yesterday’s land power demonstration hosted by the Army at Larkhill in Salisbury, the Daily Mail today reports on comments made by Major General Patrick Sanders who is reported to have said it is ‘almost unthinkable’ Britain would go to war alone again and that ‘investing into inter-operability is no longer a discretion’.
EOD
The Daily Mirror features an interview with John Hannaford, believed to be the oldest surviving military EOD operator from World War Two. The article provides snippets of John’s wartime experiences and highlights the bravery of those who undertook EOD roles, writing that those who tackled World War Two bombs had a life expectancy of just 10 weeks
Poppy Appeal
Today sees the launch of this year’s Poppy Appeal and a number of the papers, including the Daily Star, highlight the campaign.
F-18
All print outlets, including the Daily Mirror, report on yesterday’s top story, that a pilot died when his fighter jet crashed soon after take-off from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. The Daily Express writes that unconfirmed reports suggest the single-seat jet encountered refuelling problems at Lakenheath.
Image of the Day
Follow us on Twitter and don’t forget to sign up for email alerts.