Wednesday's papers

The Telegraph leads this morning with the defence cuts announced yesterday to pay for the Afghan war

RAF Cottesmore in Rutland will close and two Royal Navy vessels will be withdrawn from service in an effort to balance the books. reports the paper adding that

The number of civilians working in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will be reduced and there will also be cuts in the size of the Armed Forces, although Mr Ainsworth insisted that manpower will be prioritised for operation in Afghanistan

The Times adds that

The RAF’s fleet of 11 Nimrod surveillance aircraft, one of which catastrophically burst into flames, killing 14 servicemen in Afghanistan in 2006, is to be withdrawn from service by March as part of a range of defence cuts announced yesterday.

The Sun leads meanwhile with the story that

Prince William told forces heroes at the Millies last night that it was "a privilege and an honour" to wear the same uniform as them.

adding that

The great, the famous and the good had flocked to central London's Imperial War Museum to add their thanks on an extraordinary night of pride and tears.

Britain's former spy chief has misled the Iraq inquiry by exaggerating the reliability of crucial claims about Saddam Hussein's ability to launch weapons of mass destruction,reports the Independent

Sir John Scarlett, who was responsible for drafting the Government's controversial 2002 dossier outlining the case for invading Iraq, claimed last week that intelligence indicating Iraq possessed missiles that could be launched within 45 minutes was "reliable and authoritative". But Scarlett's evidence is contradicted by the most senior WMD analyst who saw the original intelligence. Brian Jones said that it was vague, inconclusive and unreliable.

The "future of humanity" is at stake in the Copenhagen climate talks,according to Gordon Brown

The Prime Minister has arrived at the summit promising to make a “final push” for a global deal on cutting carbon emissions.

says the Telegraph

Meanwhile the Independent reports that

Ethiopia, one of Africa's poorest countries, last night put forward a radical multibillion-dollar plan to break the continuing deadlock at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen – which was immediately taken up by Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy.

Closer to home,the Guardian reports that in an interview with the paper

David Cameron has pledged that a Conservative government would from "day one" kickstart £20bn of investment to make millions of homes more energy-efficient in a groundbreaking green partnership with Tesco and Marks & Spencer.

The Mail is upset with the sentance given to Vanessa George yesterday

Mothers screamed abuse at nursery paedophile Vanessa George yesterday as she began a prison sentence that could see her freed after only seven years.
One called the punishment 'a joke' and stormed out of court in disgust. Another lunged towards the dock and threatened to kill her.

The Sun adds that

Angry mothers of her victims then stormed from Bristol Crown Court with one shouting: "You get more than that for robbing someone's house."

The Times leads with the finding of a new poll in which more than half of MPs believe that the law should be changed to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients to die without fear of prosecution,

As the Guardian reports that British Airways is seeking a high court injunction against a 12-day Christmas strike by cabin crew after claiming that the strike ballot was illegal,the Times reports that

competitors announced measures to accommodate some passengers who fear cancellation of their BA flights. Virgin Atlantic has chartered bigger aircraft to fly between London and New York, Boston and Washington. The move will add about 1,000 extra seats, or 10 per cent of its capacity.

Barack Obama's administration announced it will transfer an undisclosed number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay to a prison in the US president's home state of Illinois. reports the Telegraph

According to the Guardian

The United States and Russia are close to a breakthrough on a new treaty to cut their arsenals of nuclear weapons and the missiles, submarines and bombers that would be used to launch them, according to officials and analysts.

The Mail reports that more than £8million of taxpayers' money is being spent on goods such as cakes, stress balls and Frisbees decorated with government propaganda messages.

The Independent says that Ministers are overseeing the growth of an army of private police officers,

Figures released by the Home Office show that more than 1,600 council employees and other civilians, including dog wardens, park keepers and security guards, now have the power to police communities

Meanwhile the Times reports that private consultants hired to boost police efficiency have been paid up to £3,000 a day,

The Express lead with the news that

Labour’s welfare benefits bonanza costs the average working household almost £1,000 a year or £20 a week.
The soaring bill to fund Britain’s army of jobless has cost the country more than £28billion for every year under Labour.

Finally asks the Guardian

Do you pay the milkman by cheque? Slip a surprise cheque in a Christmas card to a grandson or granddaughter? Or maybe you simply don't trust direct debits when dealing with gas and electricity companies?

well it continues

In the future you'll have no choice but to pay electronically, by plastic, or go online if, as expected, Britain's banks vote tomorrow to phase out the tradition dating back more than 300 years of payment by cheque.