Several of today’s papers cover a warning form the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) of a funding gap in UK finances ahead of the chancellor’s Budget. The i Paper leads with the £35bn “gap”, saying tax rises will be “needed to plug” it. It attributes this to “high inflation and the UK’s defence spending pledge”. The Treasury declined to comment on speculation surrounding the Budget. The paper also covers the deadly attacks on Riyadh airport, saying they have alarmed “Saudi elite – and Washington”. According to The i, the BBC will fill its “license fee hole” by selling Blue Planet III and launching a “new dating show for right-wing men”.
