What the papers say

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

The Independent reports that the Army has helped to reduce Northern Ireland's surgical waiting lists.

The paper says military medical staff and facilities have been used to carry out more than a hundred operations.

It claims the arrangement has been running discreetly for more than a year, despite the obvious irony that until recently the health minister was Sinn Fein's Bairbre De Brun.

According to the story, patients are given the right to refuse and some do.

After a lifetime of work people should not be denied the dignity of remaining in their jobs while they're still willing and able to do so

News Letter

The Irish Times has a front page story in which the so-called Border Fox, Dessie O'Hare, says his war is over and that the conditions for armed struggle against Britain no longer exist.

He apologises to his victims and says it is time for all republicans to move away from the road of conflict.

A Lisburn priest has called for the resignation of Cardinal Desmond Connell because of the Catholic church's poor handling of sex abuse cases.

In a letter to the Irish News, Father Patrick McCafferty pulls no punches in his comments about senior figures in the church, accusing them of "stunning arrogance and breathtaking indifference to real human anguish".

He also says certain individuals in the church are guilty of "wicked contempt" towards the victims by moving paedophiles around from parish to parish.

'Appropriate policing'

In a leader, the Irish News expresses concern about the increasing number of violent attacks in the university area of Belfast.

Four people were stabbed at the weekend - an issue illustrated graphically by a picture of a bloodstained pavement.

The paper says too many licensed premises have been allowed to open in the area - and it calls for better planning, together with what it calls "appropriate levels of policing".

A court has rejected a 60-year-old man's attempt to invoke the ancient right of trial by combat, instead of paying a £25 fine for a minor motoring offence.

Daily Telegraph

The News Letter concentrates on unionist claims that the intelligence service, MI5, is operating under political instructions from London to play down and cover up IRA activity in Northern Ireland.

The paper uses its Morning View column to welcome those government plans to scrap the compulsory retirement age.

"After a lifetime of work," it says, "people shouldn't be denied the dignity of remaining in their jobs while they're still willing and able to do so.

"And in any case, the current retirement age of 65 was established at a time when life expectancy was much lower."

One man who is determined to keep working is featured in the Sun.

Dan Jones is about to play Santa for the 50th holiday season in a row - despite suffering two strokes and 17 heart attacks.

Dan, from Birmingham, is 73 and sports a magnificent white beard.

He says the funniest aspect of the job is when children try to pull the beard off and discover that it is real.

Finally, the Daily Telegraph reports that a court in Bury St Edmunds has rejected a 60-year-old man's attempt to invoke the ancient right of trial by combat, instead of paying a £25 fine for a minor motoring offence.

Leon Humphreys invited the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to nominate a champion from among its staff.

He told the court that the DVLA clerk could choose the weapons from samurai swords, Ghurka knives or heavy hammers.