What the papers say – December 31

The front pages cover New Year Honours and the return of Covid travel rules.

What the papers say – December 31 (PA) (PA Archive)

The last day of 2022 is marked with stories about gongs, heart health and new rules for those coming to the UK from China.

The Daily Mirror and The Sun both focus on Queen’s Brian May and the Lionesses leading their country in a New Year Honours list.

The Times says the chief medical officer has warned ministers that thousands of middle-aged people are dying of heart conditions because they did not get required medicines during the pandemic.

The UK Government will follow other countries by requiring travellers from China to be tested for Covid-19 from early next year, according to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, i weekend and The Independent.

The Daily Mail claims the move has been prompted by fears Beijing could be covering up the emergence of new Covid variants.

Figures obtained by the Daily Express show more than 700 prisoners have escaped or been “released in error” from jails in the last decade.

Markets have lost more than 30 trillion dollars (£24.8 trillion) in the worst year since the global financial crisis, according to FT Weekend.

And the Daily Star instructs its readers to “get those thermals ready” ahead of the arrival of a plume of icy air from the North Pole.