Papers ponder 'holiday abduction'

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The face of Madeleine McCann, the three-year old British girl feared abducted from a holiday resort in Portugal, appears on many front pages.

The Daily Mail highlights the unlikelihood of such an incident at the retreat for the professional classes.

But the Daily Express says Praia da Luz has become a haven for burglars who target upmarket holidaymakers.

The Express and the Sun both wonder why Madeleine's parents chose not to use the creche and babysitting facilities.

Divided nation?

Many papers are examining the political landscape after Thursday's elections, with the Independent seeing Britain split into four separate areas.

Under the headline 'Divided Nation', the paper says Labour's empire has now been reduced to northern England.

The Daily Telegraph talks of "this disunited kingdom" and argues Scotland is on the road to independence.

The Guardian believes a break-up of the UK is far from inevitable but says the Scotland result was an "historic step".

Support letter

The Daily Telegraph and the Independent find space to focus on another ballot, the French presidential election.

Both papers reckon Nicolas Sarkozy is now carrying an insurmountable lead over his socialist rival Segolene Royal.

The Guardian and Financial Times carry a letter of support for BP chief Lord Browne, who resigned after lying to a court over his private life.

It is signed by nearly 70 prominent figures including architect Norman Foster and politician Chris Patten.

'Fire' alarm

There is shock after a 190-year-old Northumberland department store evacuated staff by fire alarm to inform them they were being made redundant.

Staff of Robbs in Hexham tell the Times and the Daily Mail about how infuriating they found the firm's way of giving them their marching orders.

The staff were told there was no fire, but they should brace themselves for some "bad news", the Times reports.

Local MP Peter Atkinson says it was a "brutal end to a long history".