What the papers say – October 5

A day of high tension between East and West leads the majority of Friday’s papers after Dutch authorities accused Russian spies of an attempted hack into the international chemical weapons watchdog.

The Times carries the headline “Russia caught in the act”, saying that Western powers joined forces to “humiliate President Putin”.

The Daily Telegraph carries the same story, saying it was a “humiliation for Putin”.

The Guardian runs with the same developments, saying the “fresh spying revelations… escalated the diplomatic war between the West and Vladimir Putin”.

The Financial Times leads with the same story, calling it a “transatlantic offensive” after American and Dutch governments accused Russia’s GRU of a “litany of attacks”.

The Metro calls the foursome “bungling” and refers to them as “Novichumps”.

The i call the group “blundering”, saying the agents were blown as the campaign of cyber warfare was revealed.

The Independent says Mr Putin faced “international condemnation”.

The Daily Mirror leads with a criminal probe into how tonnes of NHS waste was “left to pile up by a contractor”.

The Sun calls the Russian quartet the “Novichokle brothers”.

While the Daily Mail says the agents were “bungling”.

The Daily Express suggests the Russian spy network is 80,000-strong.

And the Daily Star reports a star of Only Fools And Horses claiming aspects of the show would not be considered appropriate today.