What the papers say – November 1

The Sunday papers are dominated by England’s imminent lockdown and tributes to the late Sir Sean Connery.

The Sunday Times and the Sunday Express say it was fear of a “medical disaster” that prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce the new nationwide measure.

The Sunday Telegraph says the lockdown will “save” the NHS, while reporting millions of Britons face a return to furlough.

The Sunday Mirror, however, calls the move “Shockdown”, adding the Government’s delay in implementing it will cost lives, and cites Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer as saying the public will pay the price of the PM’s “failures”.

The Independent plots a grim timeline of the lead-up to lockdown, asking: “What has taken Boris Johnson so long?”

And The Mail on Sunday says dissent within the Government over the lockdown has sparked a “Tory civil war”, with MPs set to rebel against the move in the Commons.

England is facing a “month of hell” according to the Sunday People, which heralds the news with a simple headline of “Lockdown nightmare”, and which features a Sir Sean tribute typical of most of the papers.

The Observer reports on the PM’s “U-turn” on the lockdown, while also reporting the US election is heading for a “frenzied finish”.

And the Daily Star Sunday leads on Sir Sean – the “greatest James Bond of all time”.