UK news roundup: prison releases, welfare reform, diesel crisis, election speculation, and more

Inmates who have been released early from prisons in England and Wales are pictured on the front page of the Metro, on what the paper is calling "Get out of jail free day". It reports the first 700 of an expected 4,500 inmates eligible under the scheme were freed on Thursday.

The Daily Mail says Thursday's prisoner release is the first of 10 scheduled to take place, with the final slated for June 2027. It suggests that up to 50,000 offenders a year are likely to be freed early under Labour's "justice programme", adding that they will "get nastier every month".

Ministers are working up "sweeping plans" for welfare reform, the Guardian says, writing that a much larger package of changes is up for debate than previously thought. It reports that proposals include scrapping a key disability benefit for under-25s and replacing it with a multibillion-pound package of support to get into work. The paper warns that the move could be "fraught with political danger" after last year's "dramatic welfare rebellion" from Labour MPs. Friday's front page also includes a nod to the much-anticipated second series of The Celebrity Traitors, which aired its first episode on Thursday evening. The Guardian deems it a "four-star return to the castle".

Diesel is the key story for the Times, which reports the UK has held emergency talks to try and avert a crisis should Donald Trump follow through on his threat to ban US exports of the fuel. The US president has demanded that Europe release stockpiles of diesel, which the paper says is to try and lower fuel prices in the US ahead of the midterm elections next month. It reports that officials fear complying with such demands could leave the continent "dangerously exposed" if the crisis in the Middle East flares up over the winter.

The Telegraph says the loss of US diesel would be particularly damaging for the UK, which imports about 55% of its diesel. It is unclear whether the UK would be directly included in any threatened US export ban, the paper says, but adds that the UK is understood to have agreed with European leaders to present a "united response". The paper's cartoon has also homed in on skyrocketing fuel costs, joking that staff at the pump "don't care what diesel cost when you started driving".

Sources have told the i Paper that Prime Minister Andy Burnham is "leaving the door open" for a snap general election in May next year. According to the paper, a source close to the prime minister has said there is a "growing school of thought" that there might be a "sweet spot" for a election in 2027. The i Paper notes that publicly, Burnham has said the next election will be in 2029.

The prime minister has been forced to walk back his response to the Manchester City scandal, according to the Sun. The paper says Burnham has been accused of "political interference" after he said he would be "really concerned" if the football club's owners decide to sell up after it was found to have breached Premier League financial rules. Downing Street has now clarified their response, it says, releasing a statement that said the initial judgement was "serious" and there cannot be "any suggestion that anyone is above the rules".

Andrew Franks, the man who was stabbed three times in a Manchester synagogue attack last year, has spoken about the ordeal to the Daily Mirror. The security guard is set to receive a Pride of Britain Award, and told the paper that he thought he was going to die in the attack.

The front page of the Daily Star carries a number of spoilers from the first episode of the new series of The Celebrity Traitors, declaring that it contains the "biggest ever show blunder".