Friday's papers

One story dominates the front pages this morning,the appearance of BNP leader Nick Griffin on the BBC's question time.

The Telegraph leads with the headline that Griffin used his appearance to attack homosexuals and Muslims whilst defending the Klu Klux clan

The remarks provoked indignation from other members of the BBC panel and hostile parts of the audience, some of whom booed, calling him "a disgrace".

says the paper

Though Nick Griffin claimed he was able to "land a few punches" during his appearance on the hour-long programme last night, other panellists left believing he had damaged his campaign to broaden his party's appeal by refusing an opportunity to say he was not a Holocaust denier, attacking "creepy" homosexuality, and claiming that the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), was a predominantly non-violent organisation.

says the Independent

The Express calls him a disgrace to humanity

The far-Right extremist provoked widespread disgust and outrage by claiming white people in Britain had suffered “genocide” and dodging questions about the Nazi Holocaust.

I am the most loathed man in Britain says the Sun adding they couldn't have put it any better

For the Mail

the British National Party leader's priceless air time still left the Corporation facing accusations of 'publicity-seeking' naivety.
Senior Labour figures warned of racist attacks in the coming days, leaving the BBC with 'blood on its hands'.

The Times reports how

The broadcast sparked protests at BBC headquarters in London. Mr Griffin was let in by a rear entrance to avoid hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators. Three police officers were injured and six people arrested after protesters broke through police lines.

Only the Guardian chooses a different lead as it reports that

College and university courses should be subject to new league tables based on how many students drop out, their future earnings and how much they enjoyed their classes, a powerful government-sponsored body proposes.

Yesterday saw the first day of the postal strike

As postal workers joined picket lines across the country yesterday, and with 78,000 to strike today, the Communication Workers Union served notice of further walkouts next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. reports the Times

Whilst the Telegraph reports that the postal union is preparing for three more days of industrial action across Britain, with postmen vowing to carry on their strike for "as long as it takes".

According to the Guardian,speculation is growing that David Miliband is in line for high representative post created by Lisbon treaty

The post of high representative is one of the key innovations of the Lisbon treaty, which is on the brink of ratification and aimed at streamlining the way the EU works and increasing Europe's clout in the world. A decision on the job is expected within weeks.

The Independent reports the ruling of the courts that Afghnaistan's bloody conflict did not make the region an unsafe place to return failed asylum-seekers.

The test ruling opens the way for deportation flights to southern parts of the war-torn country where thousands of civilians have lost their lives since the toppling of the Taliban in 2001.

Meanwhile the Guardian reports

The Sri Lankan government has angrily rejected a US state department report containing allegations of human rights abuses in the final days of the country's civil war, saying the document would fan further conflict.

The decline in Barack Obama's popularity since July has been the steepest of any president at the same stage of his first term for more than 50 years. reports the Telegraph

Gallup recorded an average daily approval rating of 53 per cent for Mr Obama for the third quarter of the year, a sharp drop from the 62 per cent he recorded from April.

The Mail reports the case of the single mother who left her four young children including two babies home alone while she went on a 24-hour drink and drugs binge,

The 22-year-old mother drank a bottle of wine and snorted cocaine with friends after putting her daughters, aged three and four, and their brothers, aged one and three months, to bed.

Finally the Independent

reports on Chairman Mao as you've never seen him before (and as the Chinese government would rather you hadn't)

Gao Qiang, and his brother Gao Zhen, are used to making waves, whether in car crashes or galleries

says the paper adding

The macabre image of Mao certainly has a touch of fiction about it. It shows him in his declining years, his hand on his heart and his face creased with sorrow as he begs for atonement, in an act of contrition that never took place.