Sunday Papers 5 February 2012 (PICTURES)

A New Hadrian's Wall For England, And Other Sunday Paper Chuckles

Seeing as though the weather has become the news, don't struggle through the snow this morning to get the Sunday papers, we've picked out all the interesting bits for you...

Even the political news is dominated by weather, of sorts. Ever since Chris Huhne resigned on Friday there's been talk of the cabinet reshuffle leading to a possible policy shift on green energy, and Tory backbenchers have wasted no time in trying to push their agenda, which is to scrap the massive roll-out of wind farms of which Huhne was a firm supporter.

100 Tories have written to Prime Minister to call for a rethink on wind farms, and the letter's been seen by The Sunday Telegraph. The letter has been orchestrated by Daventry MP Chris Heaton-Harris, and the complaints largely focus on the impact wind farms have on the countryside. Clearly Tories aren't content with Chris Huhne leaving government - they want many of his policies out the door alongside him.

The Telegraph also reports that Tories are gearing up for a showdown with George Osborne over IMF payments. Like the veto that turned out not to be a veto, the government appears poised to U-turn over money to the IMF. They've said they won't allow UK contributions to the global fund being sunk into the Eurozone, but it's never been quite clear how that would work. The Telegraph reports that there may be a vote in the Commons on the matter in a month's time. Expect fireworks.

On the subject of Britain's place in the world, The Mail on Sunday reports that it won't be long before the Westminster government will be having to keep illegal Scottish immigrants out of England. They're not making it up, insisting they've seen a Foreign Office memo outlining contingencies for Scottish independence. One option allegedly being considered is a new 'Hadrian's Wall' - who would pay for this wall, HuffPost UK wonders?

Given the matter is now subject to criminal proceedings there's not much left to squeeze out of the Huhne story - that will come in eleven days' time when he and his estranged wife Vicky Pryce are reunited in the dock of a Crown Court. But the Sunday Times (£) has spoken to some Tories in Huhne's Eastleigh constituency. They're already drawing up plans to trigger a by-election if Huhne is convicted.

Huhne's exit from the Cabinet means another senior Lib Dem is no longer in government and their replacements are a bit wet behind the ears, but The Sunday Telegraph, somewhat surprised that David Laws didn't make a comeback this week, expects the MP to make a "big comeback" in the next few months.

The Sunday Times (£) leads on claims that 5,000 headteachers are failing in their jobs, according to the new chief inspector of schools. Sir Michael Wilshaw clearly intends to pull no punches as he launches a clampdown on poor leadership at around 3,000 schools which are said to be "coasting". In his interview Sir Michael lays the blame for what he calls a "national disaster" in education at the door of these mediocre head-teachers.

Further down the intellectual food chain, the Mail on Sunday confirms what Simon Hoggart at the Guardian has been banging on about for ages - David Cameron has a bald patch which he spends much of his day trying to conceal. Meanwhile a Tory MP has upset the whole of northern England for saying people there die young because their diet consists of nothing but chip butties and Benson and Hedges.

According to the Independent on Sunday, Comparisons between Ed Milliband and Wallace from "Wallace and Grommit" fame are also causing upset. But it's not the Labour leader who's annoyed, it's the creators of the animated show. "You have to protect the brand," a spokesperson tells the paper - we're assuming they're talking about their own brand, not Labour's.

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