'Blast chance saloon' and 'Katy roars into space'

After the government took control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant over the weekend, many of Monday’s front pages consider what might happen next. “Blast chance saloon” is how the Metro describes the government’s “race against time” to obtain sufficient raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running, after ministers accused the plant’s owners of selling existing materials and not buying more.

The headline on the front page of the Metro reads: "Britain in blast chance saloon." — After the government took control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant over the weekend, many of Monday’s front pages consider what might happen next. “Blast chance saloon” is how the Metro describes the government’s “race against time” to obtain sufficient raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running, after ministers accused the plant’s owners of selling existing materials and not buying more.

Meanwhile, the Times reports ministers feared the plant’s Chinese owner, Jingye, planned to “sabotage” the site “to increase British reliance on cheap Chinese imports”. The paper also carries an image – seen on several front pages this morning – of the all-female crew set to fly into space later today. Among those set to blast off are Katy Perry, singer of the aptly named track E.T., and Lauren Sánchez, journalist and fiancée of Blue Origin space firm owner Jeff Bezos.

The headline on the front page of the Times reads: "Call to stop China from 'sabotaging' UK industry." — Meanwhile, the Times reports ministers feared the plant’s Chinese owner, Jingye, planned to “sabotage” the site “to increase British reliance on cheap Chinese imports”. The paper also carries an image – seen on several front pages this morning – of the all-female crew set to fly into space later today. Among those set to blast off are Katy Perry, singer of the aptly named track E.T., and Lauren Sánchez, journalist and fiancée of Blue Origin space firm owner Jeff Bezos.

The i Paper reports that Chinese firms “may be blocked” from critical UK sites following the weekend’s steel drama. It says Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds – who previously said Jingye did not negotiate “in good faith” over the plant’s future – acknowledges there is now a “high trust bar” for allowing such firms to invest in critical British industries.

The headline on the front page of the i Paper reads: "Chinese firms may be blocked from critical UK sites in future after steel 'sabotage' warnings." — The i Paper reports that Chinese firms “may be blocked” from critical UK sites following the weekend’s steel drama. It says Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds – who previously said Jingye did not negotiate “in good faith” over the plant’s future – acknowledges there is now a “high trust bar” for allowing such firms to invest in critical British industries.

“Rivals join race against time” to keep the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe running, reads the Guardian’s headline, as it reports British Steel managers are considering offers of raw materials from dozens of businesses. In other news, jubilant Cambridge rowers are pictured after securing a double victory over Oxford in Sunday’s boat race.

The headline on the front page of the Guardian reads: "Rivals join race against time to save Scunthorpe blast furnaces." — “Rivals join race against time” to keep the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe running, reads the Guardian’s headline, as it reports British Steel managers are considering offers of raw materials from dozens of businesses. In other news, jubilant Cambridge rowers are pictured after securing a double victory over Oxford in Sunday’s boat race.

However, “the smiling assassin” is the headline splashed across the Sun this morning. It reports Hashem Abedi was “grinning” as he attacked three prison officers on Saturday, with unnamed sources calling their survival a “miracle”. Counter-terrorism police continue to investigate the attack by Abedi, who is one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing.

The headline on the front page of the Sun reads: "The smiling assassin." — However, “the smiling assassin” is the headline splashed across the Sun this morning. It reports Hashem Abedi was “grinning” as he attacked three prison officers on Saturday, with unnamed sources calling their survival a “miracle”. Counter-terrorism police continue to investigate the attack by Abedi, who is one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing.

The Daily Mirror also leads on the attack – and asks why Abedi had access to the “boiling oil” he threw over the officers. Prison staff are calling for “rapid action” to protect them after the attack, the paper reports. Both the Mirror and the Sun cover Mickey Rourke’s departure from Celebrity Big Brother over what ITV called his “unacceptable behaviour”.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror reads: "Why on earth did he have boiling oil?" — The Daily Mirror also leads on the attack – and asks why Abedi had access to the “boiling oil” he threw over the officers. Prison staff are calling for “rapid action” to protect them after the attack, the paper reports. Both the Mirror and the Sun cover Mickey Rourke’s departure from Celebrity Big Brother over what ITV called his “unacceptable behaviour”.

“Time to stop ‘appeasing’ extremists in our jails” – this is Conservative justice spokesman Robert Jenrick’s warning following the incident, according to the Daily Mail. “MPs say enough is enough,” the paper adds.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Mail reads: "Time to stop 'appeasing' extremists in our jails." — “Time to stop ‘appeasing’ extremists in our jails” – this is Conservative justice spokesman Robert Jenrick’s warning following the incident, according to the Daily Mail. “MPs say enough is enough,” the paper adds.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph leads on the government’s “desperate move” to call in military planners to help deal with mounting rubbish in Birmingham amid a month-long bin strike. The decision “risks inflaming tensions between Labour and unions,” the paper reports. Its front page also covers a new report by MPs which says the Southport riots were fuelled by “police silence”.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph reads: "Army sent in to clean up rubbish on streets." — Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph leads on the government’s “desperate move” to call in military planners to help deal with mounting rubbish in Birmingham amid a month-long bin strike. The decision “risks inflaming tensions between Labour and unions,” the paper reports. Its front page also covers a new report by MPs which says the Southport riots were fuelled by “police silence”.

The Financial Times takes an international view of things this morning. It reports on a Russian attack which killed more than 34 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy – and highlights it came less than a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russia’s President Putin. It also turns to US President Trump’s tariffs once again. The paper reports that the exemption for Big Tech products like smartphones “will only be brief,” according to the US commerce secretary.

The headline on the front page of the Financial Times reads: "Big Tech dealt blow as Lutnick warns US tariff exemption will only be brief." — The Financial Times takes an international view of things this morning. It reports on a Russian attack which killed more than 34 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy – and highlights it came less than a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russia’s President Putin. It also turns to US President Trump’s tariffs once again. The paper reports that the exemption for Big Tech products like smartphones “will only be brief,” according to the US commerce secretary.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch gives her view on tariffs on the front page of the Daily Express. She says “it’s time to buy British” to protect UK businesses from the US president’s economic policy – as well as “Labour’s punishing jobs tax” – according to the paper. Its front page also features an image of a house explosion in Nottinghamshire, which killed one man and wrecked several properties.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Express reads: "Kemi declares: It's time to buy British." — Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch gives her view on tariffs on the front page of the Daily Express. She says “it’s time to buy British” to protect UK businesses from the US president’s economic policy – as well as “Labour’s punishing jobs tax” – according to the paper. Its front page also features an image of a house explosion in Nottinghamshire, which killed one man and wrecked several properties.

In a change of pace, “Easter brollydays” is the headline on Monday’s Daily Star as it warns a storm is set to hit this week. This is “not egg-cellent news,” the paper laments.

The headline on the front page of the Daily Star reads: "Easter Brollydays: Not egg-cellent news for Brits as 50mph storm hits this week." — In a change of pace, “Easter brollydays” is the headline on Monday’s Daily Star as it warns a storm is set to hit this week. This is “not egg-cellent news,” the paper laments.

The Guardian says British Steel is understood to be looking at offers of help from more than a dozen businesses, including rivals, as it tries to find the raw materials needed to keep its Scunthorpe plant open. It says the firm’s management is in a race against time, with help from government officials, after ministers took over control of the struggling company at the weekend.

The i Paper reports that China may be blocked from critical UK sites in the future, after accusations of sabotage were levelled against Scunthorpe’s Chinese owners.

The Times says government insiders believe Jingye intended to stop the UK producing steel from scratch, to force it to rely on imports from China.

The Financial Times leads with the latest twist of the American tariffs drama, saying technology firms such as Apple and Microsoft – who thought they had got a reprieve – have had their hopes dashed. It says US President Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has insisted the exemption for smartphones and computers will be only brief. He has said separate tariffs will come in soon for semi-conductors.

The government’s next steps after taking control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant dominated Monday’s front pages

Getty Images An aerial view of the British Steel plant at Scunthorpe. The sun sets behind the plant's large blast furnace as it ejects smoke on the edge of a sprawling series of chimneys and pipes. — The government’s next steps after taking control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant dominated Monday’s front pages

Several papers still focus on the attack on prison officers by Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber.

The Daily Mirror’s front page headline asks “why on earth did he have boiling oil?”. It says prison staff are calling for rapid action to protect them, while the Daily Mail says MPs think it is “time to stop appeasing extremists in our jails”.

The decision to bring in Army planning experts to tackle the Birmingham bin strike is described by The Daily Telegraph as “desperate”. The paper says the move also risks inflaming tensions between Labour and unions, after one of the city’s Labour MPs accused Unite of holding one-point-two million residents “to ransom”.

The headline in the Times is dismissive of the military’s role, saying the Army is to “tackle the bin strike… from the office”.

And the American pop singer, Katy Perry, is pictured on many of the front pages, ahead of her trip to space on the Blue Origin rocket, owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

The Daily Express says she is “Popping off to space”. The Telegraph calls her a “rising star”.

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