Government sources quoted in the Times warn that the political consequences of an interception that leads to drownings would be disastrous.
A Ministry of Defence source is said to have described the plan as “completely potty”.
A Royal Navy source tells the Daily Mail: “There isn’t any more we can do than what the Border Force is doing.”
The Guardian says it has learned that nearly 40% of A-level grades submitted by teachers are to be downgraded when results in England are published by the exam regular, Ofqual, next week.
According to the paper, those most at risk of receiving what it calls “unfair grades” appear to be students on the border between B and C grades, and between C and D.
Pupils at comprehensive schools with wide variations in attainment or patchy outcomes in courses over the past three years are also likely to be disappointed.
The Daily Telegraph reports that British tourists in France are returning home early to avoid a possible quarantine – because of the uncertainty about whether the country will be removed from the UK’s list of safe destinations.
The owner of a complex of 100 villas in south-west France tells the paper that bookings have been cancelled.
The Telegraph says senior Tory MPs have urged the government to be as transparent as possible about the criteria being used to judge which countries require quarantine so that travellers are not kept in the dark.
The Guardian reports that Jeremy Corbyn has accused Labour officials of trying to sabotage the party’s 2017 general election campaign out of factional hostility to his leadership.
The Independent online paper also covers the story, reporting a submission from Mr Corbyn and his top allies prepared for a Labour internal inquiry.
According to the paper, the document says that given the party was less than 2,500 votes in key seats away from forming a government, it is not impossible that Jeremy Corbyn might now be in his third year as prime minister.
The papers are full of pictures of packed beaches in the south of England on the hottest August day for 17 years.
The weather makes the lead for the i and the Mirror – which has the headline: “Sun, sea and standstill”.
image copyrightPA Media
The Daily Telegraph says roads leading to Bournemouth were gridlocked and visitors were reported to have arrived at the beach as early as three in the morning to bag the best spots.
The Daily Mail notes that social distancing was a rare sight.
Finally, there’s plenty of interest in ITV’s decision to move this year’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! from the Australian jungle to a castle in the UK because of the pandemic.
But the question for the Telegraph – is: “Get me out of where?”
A cartoon in the i dares to hope that the as-yet-undisclosed location will be Barnard Castle in County Durham – with the prime minister’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, as one of the contestants.
There is plenty of speculation about the location – but the Sun claims to have the answer… a castle in North Wales.
