Monday's papers

A political feel to the main headlines this morning.

The Telegraph leads with the story that more than 100 peers claimed in excess of £50,000 in expenses to work in the House of Lords last year.

They include 18 members of the upper chamber who claimed more than £30,000 in housing costs – significantly more than the maximum of £24,000 which MPs receive to run a second home.

The Guardian has learned that the campaign group which claims to represent the interests of ordinary taxpayers is using a charitable arm which gives it access to tax relief on donations from wealthy backer

Taxpayers' Alliance, which campaigns against the misuse of public funds, has set up a charity under a different name which can secure subsidies from the taxman worth up to 40% on individuals' donations.

According to the Mail,if the Tories win the election, Chris Grayling said, they would tear up the law which lets householders use only 'reasonable force' to defend their families against intruders.

The move comes amid public outrage at the 30-month sentence handed last week to Munir Hussain, who chased and beat a member of a gang who had held his family at knifepoint in their home.

The Independent leads with the news that

Secret correspondence between the Government and Buckingham Palace concerning the growing public cost of the Royal Family is to be released to The Independent after three years of campaigning.

The Queen also figures on the front of the Express as it reports that soldiers are being forced to beg for cash from Christmas shoppers to help pay for the funerals of fallen comrades.

The sight of men of the Queen’s Coldstream Guards standing in shopping centres asking for money was last night branded a disgrace.

Local councils and other public bodies who overpay their most senior staff should be "named and shamed", a committee of MPs has recommended.reports the Independent

The all-party Public Administration Committee wants the Government to set up a new Top Pay Commission with the expertise to analyse salaries at the top end of the market to ensure that taxpayers get value for money.

The Times has learnt that

The police service is preparing for its biggest shake-up in 50 years, with several forces considering mergers to cope with the public spending crisis.

For the Times the weather takes the lead

The Christmas travel plans of more than 100,000 people are in disarray after Eurostar cancelled services again today and admitted that it did not know when trains would start running again.

The Mail says that

Treacherous conditions on the roads led to traffic jams, delays and several collisions – including a jackknifed lorry which spilled 50 gallons of diesel on to a carriageway in the North East.
Flights were delayed when Manchester Airport was forced to close a runway because of a blizzard. Airport staff sprayed anti-icing fluid on the frozen surface as staff worked frantically to clear the snow and ice.

Meanwhile reports the Guardian,

A slow-moving storm that blanketed swaths of the east coast of the US with nearly 2ft (0.6m) of snow has killed at least five people, crippled travel and left stores normally crammed with holiday shoppers empty.

Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, has disclosed his late father subjected family members to emotional, physical and sexual abuse. reports the Telegraph

The West Belfast MP only discovered when he was 50 years old that his father, Gerry Adams Senior, had also abused some of his own children.
He said his father was in denial for many years about his actions and eventually died a lonely old man.

The stolen Auschwitz sign has been found but it had been cut into three pieces, each containing one of the words Arbeit Macht Frei (work sets you free).

Five men, aged between 25 and 39, were detained in northern Poland and taken yesterday for questioning to the southern city of Krakow, about 40 miles from Auschwitz.

reports the Guardian

The Islamist group Hamas is masterminding efforts to have senior Israeli leaders arrested for alleged war crimes when they visit European countries including Britain,

a top Hamas official involved in the effort has told The Times.

Hollywood actress Brittany Murphy, who got her start in the hit Clueless and rose to stardom in 8 Mile, died yesterday in Los Angeles of what appeared to be natural causes, a coroner's official said.

reports the Independent

The Sun claims that she had become hooked on painkillers since having a series of plastic surgery ops.

Finally as the Telegraph reports,Simon Cowell has suffered a rare setback after rap metal act Rage Against The Machine snatched the Christmas number one from his X Factor winner Joe McElderry.

The band topped the chart with their 1992 hit Killing In The Name after an internet campaign to keep Cowell's acts off the festive top spot.