‘Blowtorch Britain’ says the Mirror, as ‘record 42C heats up’. The ‘revelers’ shown jumping into the sea in Brighton look happy enough to brave the conditions. The Metro also references ‘Meltdown Monday’, while the leadership debate is cleverly done with an image of the candidates flanking their moderator, Julie Etchingham – the overlaid headline is ‘Who’s the Tories’ weakest link?’ The Telegraph couldn’t decide between ‘heatwave’ or ‘collapse’ and so compiles ‘Heatwave collapse brings UK to a standstill’. In coverage of the debate, all guns are trained on the former chancellor: “Opponents accuse Sunak of leading the country into recession.” It is also hot on the surface of the Sun. “Hotter than the Sahara” in fact. “And India… and Pakistan… and Algeria… and Ethiopia” although they probably don’t all add up. The strapline at the top of an aerial beach photo is “Super Scorchio” and the paper predicts “Beaches packed as offices and schools closed”. Others use the weather for their front page photo but blast the Tory leadership. The strongest wording is probably found in the Times, which reports that Sunak attacks the ‘socialist’ Tras.’ The newspaper calls last night’s debate a “bitter televised clash”. On the heatwave front it has “Schools told to stay open as temperatures soar to record”. “Mordaunt and Truss No 10 rivalry ignites” says i. It is not clear if the “lights up” is a weather report. There is another photo on the beach and the furniture says “UK braces for hottest day ever as heatwave hits”. Penny Mordaunt has called for an end to ‘toxic smears’… but the Express says ‘No way! The race for No. 10 is becoming personal.” And somewhat characteristic of this paper, there is an appeal to band together as British people today, regardless of the dangers posed by the heat: ‘It’s not the end of the world! Keep cool and carry on…” On the Daily Mail front, the line of attack du jour takes precedence over direct coverage of the debate: “Mordaunt defies No 10 ban to meet boycotted team”. Image wise it jumps to the now confirmed marriages of Batfleck and J-Lo. Co-head Nadhim Zahawi (the chancellor) anchors today’s Financial Times top story: “Battle rages over plans to upend City in first ‘Big Bang 2.0′”. For the photo, it’s Brighton beach again and an unflattering allusion to skin tone – ‘Beyond the pale: health alerts for record heat’.
