What the papers say – May 3

Royal stories again occupy the front pages of many of Wednesday’s newspapers, but for once the countdown to the coronation is not centre stage.

Several papers splash on the arrest of man for throwing suspected shotgun cartridges into the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

Both the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express declare the palace was in lockdown, the Mirror calling it a “coronation security scare” while the Express says police carried out a controlled explosion.

The incident also makes the front of The Sun, which calls it “Palace shotgun terror” while the Daily Mail reports on the man being held by police.

The Guardian, which is one of many front pages featuring a picture from the Met Gala in New York, focuses on letters sent to “anti-monarchists” outlining new powers to deal with protests which it says have been “rushed into law” ahead of the coronation.

And the Daily Star has its own, individual take on the coronation countdown, saying the King “covers up his sausage fingers” in the official pictures.

Across Westminster, both the i and the Independent digital edition concentrate on former senior civil servant Sue Gray refusing to co-operate with the inquiry into her new role with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

The Gray inquiry and the Met Gala also feature on the front of The Times, but the main story is a government plan to ban cold calling for financial products as part of a bid to tackle fraud.

The same fight against fraud leads The Daily Telegraph which says spies will be brought in to track down text scammers.

The Metro focuses on the murder trial of nurse Lucy Letby as she sheds tears in the witness box.

And the Financial Times says tumbling shares in the education sector are linked to the threat of artificial intelligence.