What the papers say

Journalist Mike Philpott takes a look at what is making the headlines in Thursday's morning newspapers.

The Irish News, the News Letter and the Mirror all agree, under their main headlines, that the expulsion of Johnny Adair from the UDA could mark the start of a new feud within loyalism.

The Mirror describes it as an "unprecedented split". The News Letter claims that Adair was planning a takeover of the paramilitary group.

The Irish News says it appears that the UDA in north and west Belfast is now opposed to the rest of the organisation.

In a leader, it argues that loyalists "pose the greatest threat to the entire community".

It says: "They have descended into a twilight world of gangsterism and sectarianism and because of that, the last thing we need is anyone withdrawing from the executive or the assembly".

Such a move, it believes, would cause a long period of instability.

The paper concludes that we need to encourage the conditions in which all paramilitary campaigns can be "exposed, confronted and - ultimately - forced into retreat".

Recruitment

And the template for doing that is the Good Friday Agreement, it says.

The News Letter is worried by the fact that student police officers are being issued with personal protection weapons, and highlights the threat from dissident republicans.

It is also concerned that attracting the right number of officers is being hindered by the 50-50 recruitment policy.

The paper argues that some young Protestants, who would have made the grade, have been rejected because an equal number of Catholics have not applied.

If the targets cannot be met, it says, the policy must be abandoned.

Anyone who has been to Dublin recently will identify with the lead story in the Irish Independent.

Under the headline "Destination rip-off", it says Ireland's tourist industry, which is worth 4bn euro a year, is under threat from high prices.

The paper says the country is pricing itself out of the market, and potential visitors are choosing other destinations.

It notes that seven years ago, two out of three tourists said they were satisfied with Irish value for money. Today, that figure is only one in three.

Cartoonist

The Irish Times describes it as a "wake-up call", and says the industry must address not just the price of food, drink and accommodation, but the cost of travelling to Ireland in the first place.

The common theme running through the cross-channel papers is Prince Charles' campaign of letter-writing.

The Mail, which started the ball rolling with extracts from his correspondence, has more of them.

It and the Daily Telegraph both lead with the prince's strong defence of his right to speak out on matters of concern.

The issue prompts almost every cartoonist in the land to put pen to paper themselves.

The Independent shows the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, turning his nose up at the latest delivery of the Royal Mail.

The Telegraph concentrates on the effect of the letters, showing one of them arriving through a government office window tied to a brick.

The Star has the prince talking to his plants, asking if he is crazy to be getting involved in politics.