Papers advise against May election

If Tony Blair is having any difficulty deciding whether to call the general election in May, there is plenty of advice on offer.

The Daily Mail is in no doubt that the case for calling off the election and the local elections is compelling.

To carry on with foot-and-mouth raging and 60,000 carcasses rotting in the fields, it says, would be unseemly.

The Daily Telegraph agrees, arguing that Mr Blair may live to regret his rush to the polls.

The Independent describes how Mr Blair is coming under mounting pressure from Labour MPs to abandon the idea.

It also suggests he might delay any announcement until the week after next in the hope that he will be able to point to evidence that the emergency is being brought under control.

Prince in 'purdah'

Amid all the speculation, The Times reports that Prince Charles has agreed to go into what it calls an election "purdah" on foot-and-mouth.

According to the paper, the decision reflects unease both within St James's Palace and parts of Whitehall that any further comment from the Prince on the issue risks stepping over the line that keeps the Royal Family out of politics.

Election footwork

The Express has evidence of the way politicians are gearing up for an election.

The MP for Hartlepool and former Northern Ireland secretary, Peter Mandelson, has started turning up to watch Hartlepool United with his election agent in tow.

The Tory candidate for Hartlepool is also reported to have begun attending games.

Officials at the club reckon the sudden appearance of politicians is the surest sign yet that an election is just around the corner.

Vaz row resurfaces

The future of the Europe Minister, Keith Vaz, is under scrutiny again following the decision of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to order a third inquiry into his affairs.

The Sun calls on Tony Blair to act.

It recalls the government's "three strikes and out" crime policy, saying it is a pity it does not apply to ministers.

The Daily Mail believes the new inquiry is a potentially lethal blow for the minister.

The Guardian acknowledges that Mr Blair has dismissed calls to sack Mr Vaz, but it says a number of Labour MPs expect him to be dropped after the election.

Red letter day

The Independent tells how a dyslexic nurse was mortified when Labour MP, Neil Turner, took such exception to his letter of complaint that he returned it, with all his spelling and grammatical errors corrected in red ink.

The Daily Mail prints a copy of the letter, showing that Mr Turner left not a single paragraph of Stephen Halsall's complaint untouched.

In a statement, Mr Turner described the letter as offensive and inaccurate, but he said he regretted if he had given any offence.

Star wars

It seems the highly paid stars of Hollywood films could soon be replaced by computer-generated images.

As The Mirror points out, unlike their human actors, the new computer stars are never late, do not storm off the set and will not demand sky-high wages.

The first film using the new technique has been made in Japan.

But it is not all bad news for actors - they were still needed to give voices to the characters in the movie.