Major events and economy ‘under threat’ from virus

Most papers lead again with fears about the coronavirus.

The Daily Mirror has a picture of a passenger wearing a mask as she walks along a Tube platform in London – alongside the headline, “Virus Panic”.

The Times and the Daily Telegraph focus on a warning by the government’s chief medical adviser that concerts, sports events and festivals could be cancelled – and schools closed for more than two months.

According to the Times, the Ministry of Defence is preparing plans to use Army barracks as quarantine zones if necessary.

The Guardian says analysts have warned that the disease could wreak economic havoc on a scale not seen since the financial crisis of 2008.

The Sun devotes its front page to passing on the official advice that people can avoid infecting themselves by washing their hands regularly. “It’s in your hands”, is the headline.

Amid pictures of people wearing face masks, schools standing empty and shelves cleared of sterilising gels, a number of papers call for calm over the coronavirus outbreak.

We could very easily end up in a situation where hysteria does much more harm than the virus itself, he warns.

Letters in the Telegraph make the same point, with one reader observing that the world is suffering an “unnecessary fit of over-reaction”.

There is widespread interest in the Appeal Court ruling declaring Heathrow Airport’s expansion plans unlawful because they do not comply with the UK’s climate change commitments.

The Financial Times describes it as a crushing blow to the airport’s hopes of building a third runway, and one that brings a much needed dose of reality to Britain’s commitment to reduce its carbon emissions to almost net zero by 2050.

The FT has previously supported a third runway, but now says the broader context has altered significantly – with a marked change in the tone of the climate change discussion in the past 12 months.

Theresa May’s 2050 pledge has set Britain on a radical new course, it says.

It asks whether this is the same government that said judges should not interfere during the Brexit crisis?

It says the decision will be seen as a humiliation for the couple, and it is unclear whether they will now foot a larger share of their security bill or it will fall on British taxpayers.

According to the Times, Priti Patel has refused to hold meetings with her most senior civil servant, amid a continuing toxic atmosphere at the top of the Home Office.

The paper understands that relations between the home secretary and her permanent secretary, Sir Philip Rutnam, have all but broken down after she blamed him for allegations of bullying in the department becoming public.

A Home Office spokesman tells the paper Ms Patel and Sir Philip are deeply concerned about the number of false allegations appearing in the media.

Finally, the big question for many papers on Friday is whether the UK can once again win the Eurovision Song Contest.

But the Guardian is not so sure. Playing on the song’s title, it says Eurovision optimists should not hold their breath.