'Trump's war goes global' and 'Labour ensnared by China spy probe'
Many of the papers have honed in on an expanding war zone in the Middle East, with Metro declaring: "Trump's war goes global". The paper carries a photograph of children standing beside an Iranian missile in rural Syria, noting that another missile was "taken out" in airspace above Turkey.
"US broadens war on Iran to high seas" reads the Financial Times, reporting on what it says is the first torpedoing of an enemy ship since World War Two. Iranian warship IRIS Dena has been sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka, with the bodies of more than 80 soldiers recovered. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed that the US was responsible for the strike.
The submarine attack also leads the Guardian, which says it has prompted questions from former US officials over the legality of Washington's threat to destroy Iran's military entirely. It features a greyscale image from the US submarine's periscope, which was released by the Pentagon on Thursday.
The i Paper suggests that the sinking of IRIS Dena is evidence that the war zone has widened, noting that it is the first US attack outside the Middle East since Saturday. The front page also highlights other major developments in the conflict, including Israeli troops entering villages in south Lebanon and reports of Iranian attacks on Kurdish fighters in Iraq.
Labour has been "plunged into a fresh China spying crisis", according to the Daily Mail. It reports that lobbyist David Taylor, who is married to Labour MP Joani Reid, has been arrested alongside two others on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
The Mirror says the MP "defended her husband" in the statement she released following the lobbyist's arrest. Reid said she has never seen anything to make her suspect her husband has "broken any law", adding that she is "not part of" his business activities.
"The 'spy' who loved MP" says the Star, in a subtle reference to a James Bond film of a similar name - but wisely putting the key word in quote marks as David Taylor is just a suspect at this stage.
The Daily Telegraph looks at which MPs were opposed to US military action in Iran and the use of British military bases, reporting that the "revolt" in the Commons was led by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. It says that Downing Street is strongly denying reports that the prime minister had initially been willing to let Donald Trump use the bases for preemptive strikes, but changed his mind after the opposition from his ministers.
"Allies round on 'weak' UK" says the Times, which reports that Cyprus, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have all raised concerns about the UK's response to conflict in the Middle East. Cyprus's high commissioner to the UK said the "least" his government expected was a robust defence of the island, which the paper notes is home to two British military bases.
"Weak" is repeated in triplicate in the headline of the Daily Express, which focuses on Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's "bruising" critique of Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. The paper says the prime minister is currently facing the "triple humiliation" of a "major defence bungle", a potential spy scandal and an "awkward" row over China's new embassy in London.
Football takes centre stage for the Sun, which reports a claim that England's Harry Maguire refused to pay Greek police a £50,000 bribe to make his 2020 "holiday brawl ordeal go away". A source close to the player made the claim to the paper after a Greek court upheld that the defender was guilty of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.
