Papers urge action over 'cushy jails'

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Most of Monday's papers are covering a speech yet to be made in which Jack Straw will, according to the Daily Mirror, signal the end of cushy jails.

The Daily Mail says the justice secretary will launch "a withering attack on liberal justice groups who 'drive him nuts'."

But its editorial suggests his words are out of step with his actions in office.

The Sun too believes actions speak louder than words, saying "if you mean business, give us those new prisons".

'Zero interest rates'

Several papers report calls for further cuts in interest rates, and repeat the calls in their editorials.

"Slash away," says the Sun, and the Mirror agrees, a rate cut is "a must".

The Mail says a founding member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee believes interest rates may have to be slashed to zero.

But the big news in the Financial Times is that Alistair Darling is about to scrap fiscal rules introduced by Gordon Brown when Labour came to power.

Collecting firewood

The National Trust is to go on the offensive and start buying up green spaces to protect them from developers, according to the Times.

It says the move will put the once genteel custodian of historic houses on a collision course with the government on house building and eco-developments.

The Mail meanwhile is among papers to report a possible Forestry Commission ban on collecting firewood in forests.

The move would remove a right first granted by the Magna Carta in 1215.

Baseball caps

The police have been making headlines with the Guardian reporting that every UK force is being issued with handheld fingerprint scanners.

It claims tens of thousands of sets, about the size of a Blackberry, are expected to be distributed to officers.

The Times reports on a trial of a new uniform for police in Buckinghamshire who will don baseball caps with black shirts and trousers from next month.

Critics say it will make officers look like members of SWAT teams.