Brown-Bush meeting in spotlight

As Gordon Brown prepares to meet President Bush as prime minister for the first time, the Times says the US is preparing for a "cool front heading its way".

"Businesslike" Brown - as opposed to the Blair charm - will, it believes, be a test of American hospitality.

The paper's man in Washington say Mr Brown lacks Mr Blair's easy-going charm.

Andrew Grice in the Independent says dealing with Bush will be a high-wire act for Mr Brown, but adds "don't expect him to fall".

'Flood-proofing'

The head of the Environment Agency, Baroness Young, tells the Daily Telegraph water bills will have to rise to pay for "flood-proofing" towns and cities.

"I lie awake at night worrying about our cities," she says.

The Daily Mirror, conducting its own investigation, says frighteningly high levels of bugs, including E-coli, are in floodwaters around Tewkesbury.

It said samples tested at a laboratory showed levels of E-coli and other bacteria were enough to cause vomiting or stomach upsets if drunk.

Banks 'condemned'

"Lies, scams and threats - banks are condemned," says the Times headline on the row over UK bank charges.

The Financial Services Authority has accused banks and building societies of lying to and threatening customers who complain about overdraft charges.

Elsewhere, the Independent reports BAA is seeking an injunction aimed at countering planned environmental protest outside Heathrow next week.

BBC criticised

Eight people tell the paper of their outrage at BAA's injunction bid. A poll suggests trust in the BBC "has plummeted after scandals" over phone-ins and wrongly-edited footage of the Queen, the Guardian says.

The poll, of more 1,000 people, also reveals a wider crisis of public confidence in the broadcasting industry as a whole, the paper says.

Elsewhere, the Sun has the stark headline: "Great white shark off UK."

A tourist filmed the suspected "man-eater" off the coast of St Ives, Cornwall, the paper says.