1. KNIVES COME OUT FOR ED BALLS
Ed Miliband is being pressured to demote Ed Balls after the general election as knives come out for the shadow chancellor, says The Sunday Times. A shadow cabinet member said if Labour win at the polls, Miliband should move the “bungler” Balls, who he says is behaving with “contempt” towards colleagues and “undermining the leader’s agenda”.
2. ANGER OVER LONDON ‘ISIS GIRLS’
UK security services “failed” to stop three London girls running away to join Islamic State, says the family of a Glasgow woman suspected of recruiting them. Aqsa Mahmood, 20, who went to Syria to be a "jihadi bride" in 2013, reportedly had online contact with one of the girls. Police are searching for Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15.
3. DOES JIMMY SAVILE HAVE SECRET CHILD?
A 29-year-old woman says she fears that she could be the daughter of Jimmy Savile. Her mother Georgina Martin was just 13 when she met the disgraced broadcaster in 1982. He ended the relationship three years later when she told him she was pregnant. The woman tells the Sunday Mirror: “I want to know the truth, but I hope to God I was not fathered by that man.”
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4. TELEGRAPH INSIDERS SLAM INTERFERENCE
A host of insiders at the Daily Telegraph say everything from news reports to film reviews are amended at the whim of commercial advertising staff, claims The Sunday Times. In the wake of Peter Oborne’s resignation, one insider says: "The traditional church and state line between advertising and editorial has not just been crossed - it's been shredded."
5. OSCARS: REDMAYNE TOP UK HOPE
British hopes at the Academy Awards are resting on the shoulders of Eddie Redmayne, for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Michael Keaton is Redmayne's greatest threat in the race to be crowned Best Actor. He is nominated for an Oscar for his starring role in Birdman. The 87th Academy Awards take place at Hollywood's 3,300-seat Dolby Theatre.
6. CRIME: CHILD KIDNAP RISES BY 13%
Child kidnap and abduction have increased by 13%, says the Independent On Sunday. There were almost 900 reported cases in the past year alone, as police fight to crack down on child abuse. “While the increases in child abduction and child kidnapping offences have been relatively high, the actual incidence of these offences is still relatively rare,” said the report from a charity.
7. TOXIC FUME DANGER TO AIRCREW
Toxic fumes in cabin air pose a health risk to frequent fliers and aircrew, a coroner has said in a landmark report. The senior coroner for Dorset said people regularly exposed to fumes circulating in planes faced “consequential damage to their health”. The Sunday Telegraph says the news will be welcomed by campaigners who have raised similar concerns for a number of years.
8. MILIBAND BRINGS PRESCOTT BACK
Ed Miliband is handing John Prescott a key role just months before the general election. The deputy prime minister returns to the frontline as Miliband’s personal adviser with specific responsibility for climate change. His remit, according to aides, will be to “bash heads together”. An Observer poll shows the Tories have edged ahead of Labour for the first time in three years.
9. UKIP COUNCILLOR: ‘NO REGRETS’
A councillor expelled by UKIP over "deeply racist comments" says she does not regret what she said. Rozanne Duncan said she felt "betrayed" after being expelled in December for bringing UKIP "into disrepute". In the fly-on-the-wall documentary to be screened this evening, Duncan is shown saying: “I really do have a problem with people with negroid features."
10. MOURINHO FUMES AS CHELSEA DRAW
Jose Mourinho has blamed four moments for his Chelsea side’s failure to beat Burnley. "There are four moments of the game where you can write the story: minutes 30, 33, 43 and 69,” he told the BBC. Meanwhile, second-placed Manchester City beat Newcastle United 5-0. Earlier, Arsenal had beaten Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park.
