Sunday papers query BBC future

The BBC is facing an uncertain future, according to the Sunday Times.

It claims the government is being advised to break up the corporation into separate entities for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The paper says the idea is part of a document drawn up by civil servants.

Other proposals include giving the new media watchdog, Ofcom, more control over the BBC and sharing a portion of the licence fee among other broadcasters.

The Sunday Times says the draft papers appear to be at an early stage.

Similar ideas are set out by the former Conservative leader, William Hague, in the News of the World.

He says that if he became director general, he would separate news production from the rest of the BBC, abolish the licence fee and reduce the number of managers.

But the Independent on Sunday claims the government has already ruled out sweeping changes.

It says "there is little political appetite" for dismantling the corporation.

Far-reaching change could be on the way for council tax payers.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that the tax is to be replaced with a new levy which combines property tax and income tax.

Civil war fear

One un-named minister tells the paper that the government has been jolted into action by public disquiet about big council tax rises.

The Independent on Sunday previews a speech by one of the prime minister's close allies, Stephen Byers, who proposes that pensioners should be allowed to defer payment of their council tax bills.

The idea is that after they die, their children would foot the bill.

For many papers, the audacious attack on an Iraqi police station on Saturday marks a dangerous new development in the country's post-war history.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Major General Peter Currie says Iraq appears to be descending into civil war.

He predicts that Tony Blair faces "political disaster" unless the security situation improves.

Spying claims

The Sunday Express says that now is the time for Mr Blair to show resolve.

Its editorial urges him to "finish the job", adding: "We must not let the Iraqis down."

The Observer is still looking at how the war began in the first place.

On its front page, it claims that Britain and America spied on members of the UN Security Council who were trying to avert war.

The former Mexican ambassador to the UN tells the paper that America found out the contents of a last-minute UN resolution which would have given UN weapons inspectors more time to do their work.

He claims that the information was then used to undermine the efforts of the anti-war countries.

One of the greatest unreleased albums of all time could soon be on the shelves of our record stores, according to the Independent on Sunday.

Pessimist 'glee'

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys says he is planning to release Smile, the album that was due to have been a follow-up to Pet Sounds.

He explains that Smile had not been released in 1967 because he "thought it was just too weird."

And finally there is good news for the pessimist this morning.

A study picked up by the Sunday Telegraph suggests that gloomy-minded people are better at making money than their cheerier counterparts.

Scientists say the main reason is because they are more cautious.

The findings, says the paper, "have been greeted with glee by the pessimist lobby and cheerful disbelief by the optimists."