Britain's newspapers on Saturday led with stories spanning a major cryptocurrency theft, energy policy shifts and a historic apology on slavery. According to BBC News, the Financial Times Weekend's main headline focused on the cryptocurrency sector's largest security breach, while domestic political coverage dominated other front pages.
The Financial Times Weekend led with coverage of what it described as
the largest heist in history, reporting that the world's dominant crypto exchange Binance had been targeted by hackers. According to reporting on the incident, Binance had reserved more than $6.34 billion to cover the stolen assets, with approximately $3 billion frozen or located at the time. The exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals for security checks. TRM Labs estimated that roughly $6.36 billion was moved across 10 blockchains, mostly within approximately 20 minutes, and attributed the attack with high confidence to the North Korea-linked group TraderTraitor. Binance's initial investigation pointed to a compromised engineer's laptop, though the company later identified additional points of breach, while maintaining that customer funds remained secure.
The Times led its front page with Chancellor John Healey's efforts to reduce costs associated with wind turbine shutdowns when the electricity grid cannot absorb supply. The paper characterised this as a departure from Labour's earlier commitment to decarbonise all of Britain's power supplies by 2030, noting that the government was prioritising reductions in power bills.
The Guardian published an exclusive report detailing how Prime Minister Andy Burnham had moved further than any of his predecessors in signalling a formal apology for Britain's historical role in the transatlantic slave trade. The paper reported that Burnham was receptive to demands for an official state apology and had offered to engage in formal discussions on the matter.
The Daily Star embraced the Halloween season with a story in which former England footballer Wayne Rooney claimed to have observed the character Slimer from Ghostbusters on his window sill.
The Daily Telegraph featured a prominent photograph of King Charles III smelling a flower offered by a smiling woman, though its lead story concerned Labour MPs pressing for welfare reform. The paper warned that Burnham risked alienating Red Wall constituencies unless he addressed reducing the benefits bill.
The Daily Mail reported on its discovery of what it described as a stash of child abuse material in a storage unit rented by Thomas Markle in Mexico. Markle, the father of the Duchess of Sussex, has rejected allegations that he possessed such images.
The Sun also carried a prominent story about Thomas Markle, reporting that the FBI had been contacted regarding what it termed a vile storage facility after another alleged cache of child abuse material was discovered in Mexico. Markle has denied the allegations and characterised them as
sick lies.
In what the Daily Mail described as a royal exclusive, the publication centred its front page on Zara Tindall, the King's niece and environmental campaigner, reporting that she was selling pink diamonds sourced from a mine at the centre of a significant pollution controversy.
The Daily Express ran a headline announcing
Better cancer care for every patientfor an exclusive detailing expanded mental health support that followed a campaign conducted by the newspaper.
The Independent's front page featured a large photograph of Christa Pike, a US prisoner speaking publicly following her botched execution. Beneath Pike's image appeared a headline stating
Police investigate Andrew's Balmoral visits with Epstein.
The i Paper's weekend edition led with the prime minister's
Budget bounce, analysing recent polling data and highlighting growing public support for Britain to rejoin the European Union.
What happens next
Binance expected to resume withdrawals by Sunday morning following completion of security checks and asset tracing procedures.
