Papers focus on Lords reform vote
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6429301.stm Version 0 of 1. MPs' vote for an entirely elected second chamber and the long constitutional battle that is expected to follow dominate the papers. The Times bids "Farewell to the Lords" while the Telegraph reminds its readers that the decision ends a century of deadlock over reform of the upper house. The Financial Times, though, warns of considerable hurdles and the Mirror of titanic struggles. The House of Lords, it says, is unlikely to die without a fight. 'Political vendetta' The Telegraph reports a "strong expectation" that President Bush will pardon Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The former White House aide was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice but plans to appeal or request a new trial. The paper quotes an unnamed administration official who says it is highly unlikely Libby will go to jail.  He says Mr Bush's advisers believe there was a political vendetta and no-one has committed any crime. Premature deaths The Independent, meanwhile, looks at how global warming is throwing animals' life cycles into confusion. Mammals, reptiles, birds and insects emerging from their winter shelter are getting caught out by cold snaps or wet weather, and the young are dying. On its letters page, the Times runs a letter from the former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, about replacing Britain's nuclear deterrent. He writes that it is at odds with the spirit that helped end the Cold War. Raisin slip The Mail produces statistics to reveal that health and safety officials are just as accident-prone as the rest of us. Staff at the Health and Safety Executive have been involved in 500 accidents in three years and some have been particularly bizarre, it says. According to the paper, one slipped on a raisin and another cut his head when he walked into a warning sign. A wet tea-room floor left another employee with a groin strain. |