The Papers: ‘E coli Boat Race’ and ‘Euros on terror alert’

Image caption, Images of Cambridge’s win over Oxford men’s and women’s rowing teams feature on several of Sunday’s papers – though not for obvious reasons. Cambridge “dominated from the start”, the Observer reports, but “Oxford later said several rowers had been ill … after both teams had been warned not to enter the water over E. coli fears”. The paper’s main story is about a leaked recording it says it has obtained, in which a Tory MP says that the UK government has received advice from lawyers “that Israel has breached international humanitarian law” during its war in Gaza but has not announced it. The Foreign Office says the advice it receives is confidential but ministers act in accordance with it in areas including export licences.

Image caption, “Turmoil on the Thames” is how the Sunday Times describes the Boat Race, with the added detail that Cambridge men’s stroke Matt Edge “collapsed before the finish” – though it is not thought this was linked to potential levels of E. coli in the water. An image of Edge shows him being held up by a teammate. Elsewhere, a poll conducted for the paper suggests the Conservative Party may be left with “fewer than 100 MPs” at the General Election, which it says would be an “historic defeat”.

Image caption, Cambridge rower Matt Edge is seen being helped from the Cambridge boat by ambulance workers on the Sunday Telegraph’s front page, with the paper surmising that “E. coli and exhaustion” led to “Boat Race blues”. The paper also carries an interview with Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho, who claims Labour’s pledge to convert the UK to clean power by 2030 – five years ahead of the Tories – would leave Britain “over-reliant” on Chinese-made metals, cables and batteries.

Image caption, Also honing in on politics, the Mail on Sunday has Tory MP Alexander Stafford accusing Angela Rayner of “hypocrisy” in a row over the 2015 sale of the deputy Labour leader’s council house. He says Ms Rayner was “the first to lambast” Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty over her non-dom tax status in 2022. Greater Manchester Police is reassessing a decision not to investigate claims Ms Rayner gave false information on official documents. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Image caption, Football fans hoping to see some of the Euro 2024 action live in Germany are being warned of potential new threats after last week’s terror attack in Moscow, reports the Sun on Sunday. The incident has raised “dangers to a new level,” the paper says, citing German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. “The security of the tournament is paramount,” she adds.

Image caption, The Daily Mirror leads on an interview from its Invite Only podcast, with reality TV star Giovanna Fletcher, who explains how she was “blow away” by Catherine, Princess of Wales’s “ability to connect” with people having met the royal when they filmed an episode of her podcast in 2020. The paper says the interview took place before Catherine announced, on 22 March, that she was undergoing cancer treatment.

Image caption, The lead in the Sunday People focuses on nine-year-old Tony Hudgell, who had both legs amputated after he was abused as a baby. Tony, who has gone on to raise millions of pounds for charities, has had an operation which will allow him to use his prosthetics without crutches. “First steps for brave Tony”, says the People’s headline.

Image caption, An apparent “new wonder jab” that can “prevent dementia” sits front and centre of the Sunday Express. The paper’s exclusive report describes the new drug, know as ACI-24 – which is undergoing trials on patients in the disease’s early stages – as “game-changing” and says it “removes toxic proteins from the brain before they cause damage leading to the most common form of dementia”.

Image caption, There has been a “60% increase in people putting out ads looking for exorcists,” according to the Daily Star’s Sunday edition. “Crikey” is how the paper sums up its finding.