Bank tax reports and Brand trial testimony make UK front pages

Reports that Chancellor John Healey may raise taxes on banks feature on Friday’s UK front pages ahead of his 28 October Budget. The Daily Telegraph calls the prospect a “tax raid”, according to the BBC’s newspaper review, but Healey has not announced a rise. [1]

The Guardian reports that one option under discussion is reversing an earlier cut to the surcharge on bank profits, a move it says could raise more than £2bn a year. Industry figures expect that would take the surcharge from 3% to 8%. Asked whether he would increase taxes on banks, Healey declined to say, telling reporters he would not be drawn into Budget speculation. [2] [4]

The Daily Star’s “Topless Monster” headline, also noted by the BBC, refers to testimony in Russell Brand’s rape trial. A woman told Southwark crown court that Brand became “monster-like” in a hotel room in 1999. She alleged that he made her take photographs of him half-naked and then raped her. Under cross-examination, she rejected the defence’s suggestion that Brand had persuaded her to have sex. Brand denies all seven charges against him and has pleaded not guilty. The trial continues. [1] [3]