// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'Police launch investigation' into Walliams and Piddington asylum 'betrayal'
Saturday's Daily Mirror is one of a number of papers leading on the Metropolitan Police launching an investigation into David Walliams over reports of "alleged serious sexual offences". The force said it was investigating allegations which were separate to those reported by ITV News and the Guardian earlier this week, but that detectives were also "proactively reviewing that reporting to establish whether there is any evidence of offences". Walliams said he was "not a sexual predator" and had not "broken the law" after those allegations were first reported.
"New sex offence claims" is the headline on the Daily Star's front page, as it too splashes on the Met's investigation into Walliams. The force said it had received a "number of allegations of non-recent serious sexual offences", the paper reports.
The Guardian likewise leads on the Met's investigation into the 55-year-old entertainer and children's author over the reports of alleged sexual offences. Separately, the paper reports that Nigel Farage's security was "paid for by Reform despite claim" that this was to be funded by a £5m gift he received from a party donor in 2024. Asked about Farage expensing the party, a spokesperson for Reform UK told the Guardian: "As a standard practice, we do not comment on security matters."
Reform also features on the front page of the i Paper today, which reports the party's deputy leader "lobbied Bank of England on crypto after £9m donation". There is no suggestion that Christopher Harborne, whom the paper reports made the donation, asked Tice to write to the Bank of England or that the Reform deputy leader was acting on his behalf, the i notes. Tice has said his intervention is consistent with a longstanding position in support of financial deregulation.
Meanwhile, the Sun splashes on a statement from TV personality Noel Fielding on Russell Brand's sentencing to more than 10 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. Fielding said he was "appalled" by some of the jokes he made alongside Brand, "and I very much regret them". He told the paper he was completely unaware of Brand's crimes and that he'd had "no contact with him for many years".
The Daily Express focuses on other news: the government's granting of planning permission to house more than 1,200 asylum seekers at a former military site near Piddington, Oxfordshire. "We will fight this betrayal," is its headline as locals vow to oppose the plans. The government has said it will continue to engage with the community and that no final decision on the site has been taken.
The fallout from the resignation of Nvidia chief Jensen Huang continues to lead the Financial Times this weekend. The paper, citing sources familiar, reports that the tech giant's board has approached Rene Haas, a former staffer who is currently running British chipmaker Arm, to succeed Huang - whose career "imploded over an infidelity scandal".
"Bodyguard of Hamas leader was given UK citizenship" is the Daily Mail's front page headline, as it reports on Mohammed Alfatih's links to the proscribed terrorist group. Following his conviction on Friday of unlawfully wounding a bailiff outside his Birmingham home, his links to Hamas can be reported - as well as the fact that he was re-arrested in detention by German authorities on suspicion of being involved in an alleged gun plot to attack Jewish targets. A Home Office spokesperson said the government condemned "those who choose to support [Hamas's] activities and further its aims".
In other news, the shadow education secretary tells the Times that schools should limit the time pupils spend looking at screens. The Conservatives' Laura Trott warns that "overuse of computers and tablets does 'real damage' to children", the paper reports. The Times also carries a photograph of King Charles III from his visit to Croydon on Friday, where he was given a 78th-birthday cake.
The Daily Telegraph leads on its interview with former Prime Minister David Cameron about his