Newspaper headlines: ‘I was only 16’ says alleged Brand victim, as disgraced comedian ‘moved to soft jail’

The Sunday Times leads on its interview, external with a woman who alleges she was raped by Russell Brand when she was 16. Mia Latter was one of six women who made allegations against Brand in 2023 as part of a Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches investigation. She was known under the pseudonym ‘Alice’. She has now waived her right to anonymity and is campaigning for a staggered age of consent. Brand denied the allegations at the time. None of the women in the 2023 media investigation were complainants in his recent criminal trial.

The Sun on Sunday reports, external that Brand has been moved to what it calls a “soft” Category C jail for his own safety, days into his 10-and-a-half-year sentence for rape and sexual assault. The paper quotes a former prison governor as describing the move to HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire as “flabbergasting.”

The Sunday Express highlights analysis, external by a think tank established by the former Prime Minister Liz Truss, which suggests that rejoining the EU would leave the average UK household £6,500 a year worse off. A Labour party spokesperson tells the paper that a closer relationship with the EU will help make trade smoother, cut bureaucracy and support economic growth.

The Observer, external says the clear evidence of the past decade is that British EU membership benefits both sides. Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph says, external in an editorial that reopening the EU issue allows Andy Burnham to “pretend that Britain’s economic underperformance is the fault of Brexit, rather than of Labour’s high taxes and mismanagement”.

And the Mail on Sunday says, external that if the “shameless PM had been more honest about his EU dream, he might not even be in No 10”, reminding readers that his Makerfield constituency “voted strongly” for Brexit.

The Sunday Times also reports, external that 75 Labour MPs have signed a letter warning ministers against approving drilling at the Rosebank oil field. The paper says the letter is a strategy modelled on that of the welfare rebels who forced Sir Keir Starmer to abandon cuts to disability benefits – hastening his downfall as prime minister.

But the Sun believes Burnham’s own plans to cut welfare will lead to his first rebellion. One potential rebel has told the paper, external that Alan Milburn’s long-awaited report on switching the emphasis from benefits to training is an “unexploded bomb” left by the Starmer government – and should be rejected.

The former England footballer Wayne Rooney tells the Sunday Mirror, external that his marriage is in “a much happier place” since he quit drinking six months ago. Rooney – who is about to appear on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! – has said his wife, Coleen, is delighted with his new healthy lifestyle.

Wales’s victory over New Zealand in Cardiff is celebrated on many back pages. The Sunday Telegraph’s headline, external reads: “The dragons slayed the giants.”