What the papers say

Journalist Paul Moore reviews Monday's morning newspapers.

For months the foot-and-mouth disease was allegedly out of control.

Now, according to the Daily Telegraph, the foot-and-mouth bill is out of control.

The paper reports that the prime minister has secretly ordered a halt to the foot-and-mouth clean up after being told it is costing £2m a day, and that the final bill could be £800m.

In its editorial, the paper says that while contractors may have artificially inflated clean up costs, the halting of disinfection is the latest in a long series of fiascoes that date back to the first outbreak of the disease.

The paper calls on the minister of the new Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett, to establish a full public enquiry.

Threats

Both local papers lead this morning with the threats made to staff at the Royal Victoria Hospital by people claiming to be loyalist paramilitaries.

The News Letter headline says: "We'll kill you, RVH staff told" and the paper reports that a video tape of an incident in the casualty department is being studied by the RUC.

The Irish News reports that it emerged last night that staff were assaulted, spat on and had their lives threatened on Saturday morning.

The medical director of the Royal is quoted as saying that the situation is "intolerable".

The major story in the Irish News, however, is an extensive interview with RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan in which he confirms that he will retire within a year.

In the two page interview, Sir Ronnie pledges his support for new policing structures, indicates he would not block any moves for a public inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane, Rosemary Nelson and Robert Hamill and expresses a desire to see policing taken out of the party political arena.

Bankrupt

In relation to his retirement, he says he is looking forward to pursuing his love for poetry, particularly Yeats, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.

The paper suggests, "the times they are indeed a-changing!"

And the more they change, the more they appear to stay the same.

The Independent reports on the so-called 'Madam Bovary' syndrome, the name given to the numbers of young women being declared bankrupt.

The paper says that record numbers of professional women are running up debts of as much as £100,000 on designer clothes, holidays and expensive social lives.

A Department of Trade report identifies three risk types - independent young women, bored housewives and divorcees, and older women whose children have left home.

Crowded

And if they are considering a holiday they might want to read the report in the Guardian that says Britain's airspace is now the most crowded in Europe, having seven of the 12 worst traffic control spots, according to a survey compiled by the airlines.

The paper says next weekend will be the busiest of the year at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead with one aeroplane a minute taking off or landing during the peak lunchtime period.

Finally, spare a thought for the woman, reported in the Daily Telegraph, who has had to give up her job as a knife-thrower's assistant after the latest stabbing by her workmate.

She is quoted as saying "I have my own hoola-hoop act and only offered to be the target as a favour."

The circus has had six applicants for the job.