Papers ponder Shipman murders

The report on the murderous career of Harold Shipman, who may have killed up to 300 of his patients, leads most newspapers to ask the question: "How could he have got away with it for so long?"

The anguish of families in Greater Manchester, who will never know whether loved ones died naturally or were murdered, is tackled by the The Daily Express.

Its front page headline "For God's Sake, Just Tell Us the Truth", sums up the tortured doubts now left among the people of Hyde, where Shipman practised as a family doctor.

Along with the grief, there is also anger. The Sun reports that the relatives of Shipman's victims have criticised the government for releasing the report without warning them first.

They also claim the findings vindicate their call for a public inquiry into the murders.

The Daily Telegraph in its leader column goes on to ask how the NHS can guard against the emergence of another Shipman?

It points out that it was not the number of his patients who were dying that led to him being caught, but his attempt to forge the will of one of his victims.

It concludes that it is an unedifying truth - and always likely to remain one - that is its easier for a doctor to commit a murder than a fraud.

Dome donation

The controversy over donations to political parties again makes the front pages, this time in The Independent, which reports that the businessman bidding to take over the Millennium Dome has given £100,000 to the Labour Party.

It says the revelation is certain to result in a barrage of awkward questions for ministers.

Robert Bourne, whose Legacy consortium has been the preferred bidder since November, is reported to have given one £33,000 donation while he was negotiating with the government.

But in a letter to The Daily Telegraph, the Dome Minister, Lord Falcolner, says allegations that the Legacy group was chosen because of Mr Bourne's donation is absurd.

He points out that Nomura - the original front-runner until it pulled out - was headed by Guy Hands, a close friend of William Hague.

Lord Falcolner also dismisses as nonsense claims that Legacy could make a £200m killing by building luxury homes at the site.

Sporty move

The Daily Mail fears British pride is set to suffer another blow, with the likelihood that Jaguar's latest model - the F-Type - will be built in Germany or the United States.

The Coventry-based company has decided to put the new sportscar into production.

Described as a roadster, with an asking price of around £32,000, its design is said to hark back to the "swinging sixties" when the E-type took the world by storm.

But the paper says Jaguar does not have enough room at its UK plants to build the car, and company bosses have also pointed to the problem cited by other car makers - the strength of the pound against the euro.

Female Mafia

The Guardian reports that in the Italian Mafia, it is women, not men, who now rule the roost.

Police there have found women are taking over as the heads of organised crime - setting up deals, deciding tactics and even ordering executions.

But the paper points out this is not a case of "girl power", simply that most of the men - husbands and brothers - have been put behind bars.