UK papers cynical over WMD probe

There is widespread cynicism about the inquiry set up by the government to report on the quality of the intelligence used to justify the war against Iraq - with "whitewash" a favourite word to describe what many believe its outcome will be.

In the words of the Express, all it appears to add up to is a cosy coterie of Establishment figures looking after each other.

For the Mail, the inquiry's remit is so narrow, it will be a miracle if it reaches a conclusion of any worth.

Another narrowly drawn inquiry under another doggedly Establishment figure, according to the Independent.

Has this government learned nothing, it asks.

Controversial dossier

The Telegraph complains that Tony Blair has done everything possible to ensure that the investigation focuses its attention away from Downing Street and the way ministers used intelligence before the invasion.

The Guardian says the inquiry urgently needs amendment and improvement if it is to command public respect.

While the inquiry is the main story for the Telegraph, the Guardian and the Mail, the Independent leads with the renewed criticism of the way intelligence on Iraqi weapons was presented in the government's controversial dossier.

Dr Brian Jones, the former head of the defence intelligence analysis staff, expresses his concerns in an article on the inside pages.

Elsewhere, the National Audit Office report that the railway network's new, sophisticated trains are often less reliable than the antiquated rolling stock they are replacing is the main story for the Times.

An accompanying cartoon shows a railway official telling a passenger: "You've just missed the last crisis - there should be another one along in twenty minutes."

'EU dogmatism'

The Sun and the Financial Times lead on the European Commission's ruling against Ryanair.

The decision ordering the airline to repay subsidies from Charleroi airport in Belgium angers several of the papers.

By what right do the fat cats of Brussels and Strasbourg dictate to the people of Europe that they must not enjoy cheap flights, the Sun asks.

The Times believes the ruling will be seen by millions of passengers as a typical piece of EU dogmatism.

For the Guardian, cut-price airlines have been a force for good and have also caused the big operators to respond in kind.

It would be crazy, it says, if the EU became the midwife of their decline.

Wrap rage

Finally - after air rage and road rage, a new phenomenon appears to have emerged: wrap rage.

According to the Times, increasing numbers of the population are finding it almost impossible to open the wrapping around everyday requirements such as bleach, jam, fruit juice, cat food and bottled sauces.

A national survey commissioned among the over-50s suggests that nearly three-quarters of those questioned had hurt themselves when struggling to open packaging, and a similar number said they had on occasion, abandoned a product they simply could not open.

The editor of Yours magazine - which conducted the survey - tells the Express: "It seems daft that packaging which is designed to protect the product ends up damaging the customer instead."