In the headlines
Britain is the first country in the world to approve a pill to treat Covid. Molnupiravir, taken twice daily, reduced the risk of hospitalisation by half in trials. Boris Johnson woke up this morning to “the front pages from hell”, says Politico, as the tabloids piled into the government for blocking the suspension of a Conservative MP. “What a rotten, nose-peggingly putrid place Parliament can be,” said the Mail’s Henry Deedes. Tory MP Owen Paterson had faced suspension for breaking lobbying rules; his defence that he was alerting consumers to dangerous foods was rejected by the parliamentary standards committee. Faced with an outcry, the government this morning performed what the Mirror calls a “massive U-turn” – the vote will now be held again.