Farming crisis leads the papers

The far-reaching effects of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak are prominent across all of Thursday's papers.

The Independent speaks of farmers "staring into the abyss" after the first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease for 20 years.

The blanket ban on exports which has been imposed could have catastrophic consequences, the paper says.

The Daily Mail talks of Britain being "effectively in quarantine".

Under the headline "Pig Sick", The Sun says farmers, still reeling from the mad-cow epidemic, are devastated, and many fear they will be finished.

The Mirror tells its readers: "don't panic ... your food is safe, even if farmers face ruin.''

The Daily Express believes the government's proposals to offer free childminders to teenage mothers if they stay on at school will cause fury among family campaigners.

The paper says it puts the issue of schoolgirl mothers back at the top of the political agenda only weeks before a general election.

Election countdown

The Times says its latest opinion poll suggests Labour now enjoys as big a lead as it did before its victory in May 1997.

At the same time, the paper says, confidence in William Hague among Tory supporters has fallen to its lowest level for nearly a year.

The Times bases its conclusions on its latest MORI survey, which puts support for Labour at 50%, with 30% for the Conservatives and 14% for the Liberal Democrats.

Nearly 2,000 people were polled within the past week.

According to the Daily Telegraph, William Hague has warned his party activists that momentum is building up for an early election.

The paper says he has put them on alert for a possible polling day on 5 April.

Letter doubt

The Sun gives further details of letters said to have been written by Robert Thomson, one of the killers of James Bulger, to a teenager who had spent some time in the same secure unit.

It shows examples of the handwriting along with conclusions about the personality of the writer from a handwriting expert.

The Guardian says Thomson's solicitor has cast doubt on the authenticity of letters.

Noting that the Sun had described them as "menacing", the Guardian says they sound more like laddish boasting.

The Daily Express continues to go for the jugular in its spat with the Daily Mail.

After a couple of days of sniping at each other, the Express upped the ante yesterday with a double-page feature on the Rothermeres, the family who own the Mail.

Today, it publishes a second instalment and tomorrow's edition will apparently carry a feature on "the top people who hate the Mail".

Today's Daily Mail has not returned fire.

Fighting spirit

Several papers tell how five louts picked on a 14-year-old girl in an underpass ... not realising she was on her way home from tae-kwondo classes.

Heidi Rogan, from Thornaby in Cleveland, hit back when one swung a punch.

She then delivered a jump kick to the groin of another member of the gang who was blocking her path.

The group, who had been laughing and swearing, fled the scene.

It was two days before Heidi told her parents because she was scared they might stop her going to the classes ... they say that is now the last thing they would want to do.