Friday's papers

MP's expenses return to the front pages this morning

The Express refers to them simply as Common criminals as it describes how they

snatched a further £10million in lavish Commons expenses last year while tax bills for millions of households soared, it was revealed last night.

Senior members of the Government were among MPs who went on a multi-million-pound spending spree last year in the run-up to a clampdown on parliamentary expenses. says the Telegraph

Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper, the husband and wife Cabinet members, are revealed to have repaid the taxpayer a total of £2,700 exactly a week after the start of the expenses scandal in May, after overclaiming for their mortgage.

The Mirror turns its attention to David Cameron who it says claimed £1081 of mortgage interest days after telling the country that the expenses system was wrong

The Mail believes that a minister's £20,000 expenses claim for repairs to his roof and bell tower yesterday torpedoed Labour's class war campaign against 'Tory toffs'.

Quentin Davies submitted an invoice for more than £20,000 to repair the bell tower and a lead gutter at his country home, but after the expenses scandal broke last May, he told Commons officials he never meant to claim for the tower.

Publication of the claims will make uncomfortable reading for all three party leaders, who all responded to the expenses scandal that unfolded in early May by condemning the system. says the Times

Meanwhile the ramifications of Wednesday's pre budget report continue to be examined

The true extent of the financial pain that will be felt by households and public services over the next few years was laid bare yesterday by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.says the Independent as it says it will cost every family £2,400

Institute for Fiscal Studies said Labour’s pledges to increase spending on schools and hospitals will mean that all other Government departments will face “severe cuts” in their budgets. says the Telegraph

The Guardian says that

Gordon Brown claimed a victory for the government tonight after securing the support of France and Germany for its supertax on City bonuses amid signs that major Wall Street firms were attempting to prevent a similar clampdown by the Obama administration.

An e-mail leaked to The Times shows that officers believe that nursery-age children should be checked for signs of extremism

In an e-mail to community groups, an officer in the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit wrote: “I do hope that you will tell me about persons, of whatever age, you think may have been radicalised or be vulnerable to radicalisation ... Evidence suggests that radicalisation can take place from the age of 4.”

The era in which all Britons aspire to own their own home may be coming to an end, according to the Housing minister,reports the Independent

John Healey suggested that Britain may be moving towards a European model, with renting on a roughly equal footing with buying. He said home ownership had fallen from 71 per cent of households in 2003 to 68 per cent today, noting that this trend began in 2005, well before the recession.

According to the Mail,one in three letters is handled by a rival to the Royal Mail, the state owned firm has admitted.

Every day, around 72million letters and parcels are sent - and around 26million are not picked up or sorted by the Royal Mail.

According to the Guardian,tThe first official recommendations for a diet that is both healthy and good for the environment are published today, and they are likely to be seen as an assault on the UK's current food system.

To fight climate change and tackle the growing crisis of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, British consumers must cut down on meat and dairy produce, reduce their intake of processed foods and curb waste.

The Times meanwhile reports that Unilever has been exposed as contributing to the destruction of rainforests by buying thousands of tonnes of illegal palm oil.The firm

which uses palm oil in its Flora and Stork margarines, Dove toiletries and Persil washing powder among many other products, will today announce that it is cutting links with Sinar Mas, Indonesia’s largest palm oil company.

Severe weather hits the the mid West of the United States

More than a foot of snow has fallen in 12 states as blizzard conditions buried cars under snowdrifts as much as 15 feet deep.
Most of the deaths were due to traffic accidents. In Kansas, visibility dropped to only 50 feet while in Iowa a major highway was closed, leaving lorry drivers stranded.

reports the Telegraph

Meanwhile on this side of the Atlantic,icy weather this weekend will double the chances of a white Christmas, says the Mail

Forecasters believe the torrential rain has now ended after nearly two months, and a cold blast is about to send temperatures plunging below freezing, with fog, ice, sleet and even snow.

Finally as this weekend sees the final of the X factor,a worry for its legions of fans.According to the Sun

SIMON Cowell has threatened to scrap The X Factor unless ITV coughs up another £3m.
The music mogul is refusing to sign another deal with the channel unless bosses agree to hand over extra funds to make next year's shows "even better".