Newspaper headlines: 'Gunboat diplomacy' and fears of new Covid rules

The Times, the Mail and the Express lead with the news that the UK is to pay the French government another £54m to increase patrols of beaches in northern France aimed at preventing migrants from crossing the English Channel to get to Britain.

The Mail says the deal came as chaotic scenes emerged of a French navy vessel apparently ushering an overcrowded dinghy into British waters early on Tuesday.

The papers also report that the number of migrants making the crossing has reached nearly 8,500 - surpassing, they say, the figure for the whole of 2020.

The government's plans to change the post-Brexit trading arrangements between Britain and Northern Ireland, makes the lead for the Financial Times.

It says the UK is putting itself on a "collision course" with the EU by unveiling new demands that would seek to eliminate most checks on the Irish Sea trade border.

According to the paper, the proposals are expected to include an "honesty box" approach, where companies that say their goods are destined only for sale and use in Northern Ireland should be exempt from checks on the Irish Sea border.

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For its main story, the Telegraph says Boris Johnson is being warned by cabinet ministers to exempt more workers from self-isolation or face a wave of supermarket, Post Office and restaurant closures.

It says there are concerns the prime minister has not gone far enough with exemptions, given that scores of major industries are unlikely to benefit from the scheme. One cabinet minister tells the paper that binmen and other public service workers should be included.

The Mirror leads with official figures revealing that more than a million pupils missed class last week as the "pingdemic" gripping England sparked chaos in schools.

It says the record number is expected to be even higher this week as the "pinging mayhem" hammers schools.

The i says scientists advising ministers in England have urged the government to bring back measures - such as compulsory face masks and advice to work from home - in the first week of August if Covid hospital admissions rise quickly.

The paper says they argue that early intervention would prevent the NHS becoming swamped in a late summer crisis and leave the UK in a better place for the autumn.

Several papers report that Boris Johnson has delayed plans to overhaul social care until the autumn.

According to the Sun, leaked plans to put up National Insurance to pay for the changes were widely criticised. It says Tory MPs were livid that manifesto commitments not to increase tax were being ripped up.

Finally, the first Morecambe and Wise Show to air on BBC One - feared lost for ever - has been unearthed after 50 years.

The Mirror reports that Eric Morecambe's son, Gary, found a film of the episode in the attic.

Despite getting 14 million viewers, the half-hour show - broadcast in October 1970 - has never been repeated. ITV will show the footage as part of its Lost Tapes series.