What the papers say

Journalist Mike Philpott takes a look at what's making the headlines in Friday morning's papers.

Most of the papers agree that the John Leslie case raises important questions for the administration of justice in Britain.

The Mail accuses the Crown Prosecution Service of presiding over a shambles.

The paper says: "You don't have to be one of the TV presenter's fans to feel queasy about what happened at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday."

And it wonders why the CPS didn't reveal its reasons for dropping the case.

In the Mirror, the story knocks its world exclusive on the case of Tony Martin off the front, indeed Mr Martin finds himself relegated to page 11 to make room for six pages on Mr Leslie.

The Express outdoes it with nine pages and a promise of more exclusive material as it serialises John Leslie's story, beginning on Saturday.

In Belfast, the News Letter leads with the conviction of a man who duped people into believing he was a police officer for eight years.

Police reform 'weakened'

The paper says that when its reporter called at his door last night, it was discovered that the case had cost him not just his job, but his marriage.

The police service also turns up in the paper's leader column but for quite different reasons.

It comments that police reform has weakened rather than strengthened law enforcement and it reckons many officers are afraid to carry out their jobs properly because of fears that they will end up being investigated by the ombudsman's office.

The paper concludes that the PSNI must be allowed the space to do its job, and must be given the support of everyone who values a decent society.

The Irish News takes its lead story from that employment tribunal which found that a man from west Belfast was driven to attempted suicide by sectarian abuse after joining the Royal Irish Regiment.

The paper says he changed his name and stated his religion as Church of Ireland to avoid harassment from fellow soldiers, but his background eventually became known.

The tribunal heard that senior officers failed to deal with his complaints.

In a leader, the paper condemns the bomb scares that brought the centre of Belfast to a standstill on Wednesday and those who put a pipe bomb outside a prison officer's home in Bangor.

'Most want peace'

It says the officer's 10 year-old daughter, who carried the bomb into the house, could have been killed.

It concludes that "the vast majority of people want to live their lives in peace and resent and despise those who try to impose their will by violence and intimidation".

Many papers report on the campaign by the Pope against gay marriages.

It's a subject taken up by the Irish Independent, which believes that it poses fundamental questions about the roles of Church and State in Ireland.

The paper comments that the Vatican's language is unnecessarily harsh - especially when it describes homosexual unions as evil.

And it says Ireland must ask itself if giving gay couples some degree of marriage rights would really deal such a blow to society.

Finally, the Star reports on a survey indicating that people in boring jobs are inventing more exciting occupations for themselves in the belief that it makes them more attractive.

One man admitted to claiming that he directed videos for U2.

Another told women he was principal oboist with the London Symphony Orchestra.

More difficult to explain are the pair who posed respectively as an undertaker and a penguin keeper at Colchester Zoo.