What the papers say – January 16

After a week of royals news dominated the nation’s papers, Thursday’s front pages see a mix of national and international news with several NHS stories taking centre stage.

The Daily Mail leads with NHS National Mental Health Director Claire Murdoch’s letter to gambling bosses calling for an end to the “predatory tactics fuelling (the UK’s) mental health crisis”.

The Guardian reports on an outcry from doctors over plans to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting target. Royal College of Emergency Medicine president Dr Katherine Henderson said the plans were a move to “find ways around” the target, rather than “delivering on it”.

The government’s plan to solve the NHS staffing crisis will lead to a pension tax windfall for tens of thousands of high income earners, according to The Times.

The Independent leads with former health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s urgent plea for NHS hospitals to appoint medical examiners before the April deadline.

Elsewhere, The Daily Telegraph says that the police have been accused of being too lenient on cannabis users.

The Daily Mirror reports on the arrest of Piran Ditta Khan, a suspect in the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky, who was killed in a bungled robbery in 2005.

A “Remainer plot” is to blame for the exorbitant cost of ringing Big Ben on Brexit day, according to the Daily Express.

The i leads with a report warning that the increased demand put on the national energy grid by a surge in electric cars could result in mass power cuts.

The Metro splash is on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Bradford on Wednesday.

Vladimir Putin’s revamp of the Russian leadership could see him “prolong (his) 20-year grip on power”, according to the Financial Times.

And the Daily Star says that hunters are paying as little as £70 to hunt deer in the UK.