The Daily Star won the battle of the front pages once again this morning after it poked fun at reports that Dominic Cummings and his family are set to avoid a five-figure council tax bill.
The red top, which has been widely credited for its new satirical edge, included a cut-out of the Prime Minister’s Svengali on its cover as part of a “council tax avoidance kit”.
It comes after Cummings had a £30,000 council tax bill written off – despite two properties on his family’s Durham farm being judged to breach planning regulations.
Years of unpaid taxes – up to as much £50,000 – on two homes built in breach of regulations will be forgotten, even though investigators found that Cummings is liable to pay council tax on them.
Instead of the charges being backdated to when the two properties were built, new new charges for the properties – on the outskirts of Durham – will come into effect from the start of this month, according to the Northern Echo and originally reported by Alex Tiffin.
One rule for them
Durham County Councillor John Shuttleworth told the paper: “They should have informed them (the authorities) and it should have been checked.
“If it was anybody else, they would be getting charged and it would be backdated, or they would be getting taken to court.
“It just proves there is two sets of rules, one for them and another for everyone else. It is not right.
“We have to abide by the law and it we don’t you get put in prison or you get fined. They are just above it.”
Daily Star
It’s not the first time the Daily Star has led with ridicule on its front pages.
Earlier this year it mocked Boris Johnson’s decision to nominate Jo Johnson for a peerage with ‘honour for every brother’ front page.
Said it before, say it again. The @dailystar is the only paper that matters any more. pic.twitter.com/BnTdCDsorX
— Dominic Utton (@DomUtton) August 3, 2020
In May it provided a free “Do whatever the hell you want” mask in the paper, bearing Dominic Cummings’ face which can be used to get out of most sticky situations.
Wednesday’s Daily Star: Cops: Don’t drive if you’re blind #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/xm9ZNk0DW2
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) May 26, 2020
And following the local lockdown in Leicester the paper provided a similar cut out for people wanting to escape the city.
Wednesday’s Daily STAR: “Bog Roll Bandits Are Back” #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/jSDEtAtbBA
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) June 30, 2020
Related: Local pub in Merseyside rebrands in response to new lockdown restrictions