Newspaper headlines: Boris says Irish border Brexit plan 'a disaster'

By BBC News Staff
Image caption Former foreign secretary and current Daily Telegraph columnist Boris Johnson has repeated his vituperative criticism of Theresa May's plan to resolve the Irish border problem post-Brexit. Writing in Monday's paper, he said a backstop option would, in effect, mean Northern Ireland being "annexed" by Brussels. Whereas Mrs May's alternative of keeping the UK in the customs union would "effectively" mean Britain remained in the EU.
Image caption The Times offers good news for Mrs May's plans for an Irish border on its front page, where it reports the EU is secretly prepared to accept a frictionless Irish border without the so-called backstop. The paper says Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier is looking at writing a "protocol" text outlining the use of technology to minimise checks in-between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. The paper adds it is hoped the agreement "will help Mrs May to survive long enough to reach an agreement with Brussels this winter".
Image caption The Metro leads on Michael Gove's interview with Andrew Marr, where he urged Brexiteers to back Mrs May's Chequers plan for Brexit. The environment secretary, who campaigned to leave the EU, said Tory rebels worried about the government's plan tying Britain to Brussels should instead concentrate on getting Brexit agreed.
Image caption Radio 1's first female Breakfast Show host is due to claim the same mantle at Radio 2, according to the Sun. Zoe Ball has been offered Chris Evans's show after he announced he was moving to Virgin Radio. The BBC has stayed tight-lipped about who was in the running for the country's most-listened to radio show, but the Sun reports Ball is in "advanced negotiations" over the job and will sign a contract within a fortnight.
Image caption ITV could poach some of the BBC's most successful shows, the Daily Star reports. Bosses at the channel want to buy Endemol Shine, a production company valued at £3bn. The company produces Peaky Blinders, Pointless and Masterchef for the BBC, among others.
Image caption Cash-strapped councils are developing computer-based algorithms to predict young people at risk of child abuse, the Guardian reports. The paper says local authorities are using vast quantities of data to develop the predictive analytics systems, allowing them to focus child services resources more effectively. The paper says Hackney and Thurrock councils have hired a private company to develop a system.
Image caption Hundreds of vulnerable children in urban care homes are being targeted by gangs to sell drugs in rural communities, the Daily Mail reports. The paper said children as young as 12 have been arrested in the so-called "county lines" problem, where urban gangs descend on the shires. In Norfolk 714 people have been arrested as part of the problem, 126 of them children. Some were sent to East Anglia from as far afield as Leicestershire, Teesside and London to sell drugs.
Image caption The Daily Express reports on a major study that suggests elderly people in good health should not take an aspirin a day. There are proven benefits of the drug for people after a heart attack or stroke. But the trial found no benefit for healthy people over the age of 70, and the pills increased the risk of potentially fatal internal bleeding.

Boris Johnson's column for the Daily Telegraph is highlighted on the paper's front page, after the former foreign secretary warned that Brexit will be a "total write-off" unless Theresa May rips up her plans for the Irish border.

That's not the view of the Times, which claims to have seen confidential notes which reveal the EU's determination to "take the heat out of the issue". It says Mrs May has been given a "boost" as Brussels is working on a plan to use technology to minimise checks at the border.

Image copyright BBC/PA

The paper's editorial suggests that a "new realism" has taken hold in Brussels, and it argues Mrs May must be flexible enough to "seize the moment" and strike a deal.

On the same issue, the Financial Times reports Brussels is considering putting British officials, rather than EU inspectors, in charge of checking goods heading to Northern Ireland, as part of efforts to "de-dramatise" the row over the border.

The FT uses its editorial to suggest that a compromise solution for the issue is now "in sight", but the paper's front page highlights concern within the City. It says Deutsche Bank has scaled up plans to shift assets worth hundreds of billions of pounds from London to Frankfurt, after coming under pressure from European regulators over its UK operations after Brexit.

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The lead story in the Guardian says councils are using the data of hundreds of thousands of people to construct computer models, to try to identify who may need support from social services. The paper reports that at least five local authorities have developed systems which use algorithms, in an attempt to allow them to focus their resources more effectively.

The Guardian warns the move "is likely to be controversial", as it could intrude into individual privacy as well as perpetuate discrimination against minorities.

Image copyright AFP

It would be based on the auto-enrolment pensions system, with every adult in England being expected to pay into a fund to cover their care in later life. The paper's editorial suggests that social care is the UK's "biggest challenge", and argues any reform that will alleviate a crippling financial burden is "worthy of consideration".

The Daily Mail says hundreds of children are being "enslaved" by drugs gangs, who use them to flood rural areas with heroin and crack cocaine. The paper says 126 children, including some as young as 12, were arrested in Norfolk alone after the number of so-called "county lines" gangs increased by 40% in just one year.

Finally, with the headline, "It's Ball Yours, Zoe", the Sun claims the BBC is set to ask Zoe Ball to replace Chris Evans as host of the nation's most popular breakfast show. The It Takes Two presenter is said to be in "advanced negotiations" and is expected to sign a contract with Radio 2 within a fortnight.

The paper describes the decision as a "devastating blow" for Sara Cox who was tipped by Chris Evans as his successor. It says she is the back-up option if Zoe can't agree a deal as BBC bosses "want a female in the flagship slot".