Sunday Papers: Marines Ship Out, Starmer Takes on Big Tech, and Tiger Woods Has Another Bad Day

What the Sunday Papers Are Shouting About

Sunday's front pages are doing what they do best: competing for your attention with a heady cocktail of war, politics, celebrity scandal, and sport. Let's unpack the headlines dominating the newsagent shelves this morning.

US Marines Head to the Middle East

The big one first. Thousands of US Marines are heading towards the Middle East as the US-Israel conflict with Iran enters its second month. Around 3,500 sailors and Marines aboard the USS Tripoli have already arrived in the CENTCOM area, with a further 2,500 en route aboard the USS Boxer. There are even rumblings about an 82nd Airborne deployment of 2,000 troops being considered.

The war, which began on 28 February 2026 with joint US-Israeli airstrikes, has escalated significantly. Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, sending global oil markets into a tailspin. President Trump has set an April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the strait, which feels less like diplomacy and more like a countdown clock on an action film. Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have entered the fray, because apparently this conflict didn't have enough moving parts already.

Starmer Declares War on 'Antisocial Media'

Closer to home, the Mirror splashes with Keir Starmer pledging to take on social media giants over their addictive grip on children. The timing is no coincidence. A California jury recently found Meta and Google liable for designing platforms that cause mental health harm to young users, and Starmer clearly fancies a piece of that action.

The PM is consulting on potential bans for under-16s, with a UK public consultation running until 26 May 2026. Whether this translates into meaningful legislation or simply a stern letter to Mark Zuckerberg remains to be seen, but the political winds are unmistakably blowing against Big Tech right now. For once, "think of the children" might actually lead somewhere productive.

McSweeney's Texts and a Missing Phone

The Morgan McSweeney saga continues to provide Westminster with its favourite soap opera. Parliament has demanded that the PM's former chief of staff hand over private texts relating to Lord Mandelson and the now-infamous ambassador appointment debacle. McSweeney resigned from Downing Street on 8 February after taking responsibility for appointing Mandelson as US ambassador despite his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson was sacked from the role back in September 2025.

There is a delicious complication, though. McSweeney's government phone was reportedly stolen by a cyclist in Westminster last October. Whether those texts still exist is anyone's guess, but the optics of "sorry, a bike thief ate my homework" are not exactly reassuring.

Tiger Woods in Trouble Again

Over in sport, Tiger Woods finds himself back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The golfing legend was arrested for driving under the influence in Jupiter Island, Florida, on Friday afternoon after rolling his Land Rover when he clipped a truck. Mercifully, nobody was injured.

Here is where it gets curious: his breathalyser registered 0.00 blood alcohol, but he refused a urinalysis test. Authorities suspect medication was the culprit. If that sounds familiar, it should. Woods was arrested for the same offence in 2017, also in Jupiter, when he was found asleep at the wheel. He was held for eight hours per Florida law before being released on bail.

In Other Headlines

The Mail on Sunday claims that reportedly up to 70 Britons have been arrested in the UAE for filming drone and missile attacks, though that specific figure has not been independently confirmed. What we do know is that over 109 people of various nationalities have been detained, with 21 people charged so far.

Elsewhere, Miranda Hart is reportedly in talks to become the next Strictly Come Dancing presenter, replacing Claudia Winkleman. The BBC says plans will be confirmed "in due course," which in BBC speak means "we'll tell you when we're good and ready."

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