What the papers say

Journalist Keith Baker takes a look at what is making the headlines in Monday's morning papers.

All eyes are on Gordon Brown.

As the Mail headline says: "After the election that never was, a day of grillings for the prime minister."

The Daily Telegraph's headline reads: "Battered Brown struggles to restore his image".

"Brown fightback begins as aides admits mistakes," is the Guardian's headline.

The paper says the prime minister's credibility has been severely damaged. It is a "fiasco", it says.

'On the wane'

The Times says Mr Brown's struggle to recover from humiliation coincides with signs that the "feel good factor" is on the wane.

It reports on a study which shows the tightest squeeze on our wallets in ten years, thanks to higher tax bills and the rising cost of things like food, fuel and mortgages.

The Independent carries the headline: "Labour in crisis". But the story is not about politics. It is a story about childbirth.

The paper says the price being paid out by the NHS for deliveries going wrong has risen by 59% in the past two years and now stands at £259m.

As the Independent points out, this is enough to hire hundreds of extra consultants and midwives in order to save thousands of babies and mothers from harm.

School gate drugs

In the local newspapers, the Irish News has the remarkable story of a bag of ecstasy tables dumped at a school gate in west Belfast. The paper carries a picture of the tablets.

The Irish News says if the plastic bag had not been spotted, there could have been "untold tragedy" when children arrived for classes at St Luke's in Twinbrook.

It is reckoned the drugs were either left at the scene to be picked up or they were dumped by dealers because of a police operation in the area.

The Irish News says the drugs war is "a battle for us all". And it says that if the police are to keep illegal substances off the streets, they will need the help of everyone in society.

The News Letter reports on an ordeal for Gregory Campbell.

The paper says he and his wife were subjected to sectarian abuse by Celtic fans while they were travelling by ferry from Stranraer.

The incident happened a few weeks ago. Mr Campbell tells the paper most of the fans didn't show any aggressive behaviour but, as he says, "the few sectarian bigots who did were a disgrace".

The News Letter says the chairman of Celtic has warned fans from Northern Ireland to behave themselves.

George Best is still making headlines. He may be gone, but certainly not forgotten.

The Belfast Telegraph has an interview with Kay Jenkins from east Belfast who says she was George's first girlfriend.

Love child

An old picture of her and George popped up last week when a book by his sister Barbara was being promoted.

Finally, if you potter around the house wondering where your car keys are, you are not alone.

The Daily Telegraph says a poll of 2,000 drivers shows that 16% have lost their keys at least once while one in ten don't have a spare set.

As alarm systems become more sophisticated, replacement keys can cost you a fortune.

The paper says if you own a Nissan Micra, for example, you might have to fork out as much as £326.