It's alleged in the Sunday Times that a company owned by Reform UK's deputy leader and business spokesman, Richard Tice, broke the law by failing to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax on dividends that were paid to him and his offshore trust. The paper says Tice received at least £91,000 in excess payments as a result. It said the property investment firm – Quidnet REIT limited – didn't pay a 20% levy on dividends, known as the withholding tax, before channelling profits to Tice and his trust.
Tice was quoted in the paper as saying that revenue and customs had been paid in full, and that the story was "just an attempt to smear a successful businessman turned politician giving hope to millions of people". In an interview with the Telegraph, the former head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Baroness Falkner, has accused the government of "cowardice" in not yet publishing guidance for businesses and public bodies on women's rights to single-sex spaces. She tells the paper that the Women and Equalities Minister and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is "blocking" the guidance over fears it may damage her chances of promotion.
The paper reports that Phillipson has previously said that time is needed to get the updated code right. The Mail on Sunday says it's been told by defence sources that the Royal Navy will be forced to ask for French help intercepting Russian vessels in British waters, because the UK fleet is struggling to meet "operational commitments". In response the Ministry of Defence told the paper that it didn't need French help, saying that British waters were constantly protected and monitored and it did have the resources to keep the UK safe.
The Sunday Express leads with what it calls the "U-turn of all U-turns" after Sir Keir Starmer shelved his Chagos Islands deal. Writing in the paper the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, claims victory for the prime minister's retreat, after what she says was her party's "relentless" opposition to the bid. But the Observer notes that the government has indicated that the agreement hasn't been abandoned entirely, but is instead an indicator of declining relations between the US and UK.
And many of the papers carry a photo of jockey Paul Townend riding I Am Maximus to victory in yesterday's Grand National. It's the second time the pair have won it in three years, leading of course to comparisons with a previous multiple winner, Red Rum, says the Sunday Times. Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.
