Newspaper headlines: Brexit \'emergency\' and \'Break-xit\' campaign

Newspaper headlines: Brexit 'emergency' and 'Break-xit' campaign

By BBC News Staff
The i newspaper
Image caption Many of Friday's papers lead with Brexit again - although when some went to print, EU leaders were still locked in discussions over the UK's request to postpone the leaving date beyond 29 March. The i, however, was among those who waited until after the talks. The paper reports on the EU agreeing to extend Brexit either until 22 May if Theresa May's deal is agreed in the next few weeks, or until 12 April if not.
The Metro Frida
Image caption The Metro, which printed a second front page after the delay was confirmed, puts the two Brexit deadline dates side by side - 22 May if MPs back Mrs May's deal or 12 April if they reject it. The paper says commentators suggested that the decision, taken at the summit in Brussels, marked a "softening of the EU's 'take it or leave it' stance" over the Brexit deal.
The Times Friday
Image caption For the Times, the EU's decision to grant a Brexit delay - after almost seven hours of talks - is a "three-week lifeline" to Mrs May to come up with an alternative Brexit plan if her deal is not approved by MPs. The paper says that one EU leader told their aides that Mrs May seemed "evasive, had no plan and even seemed confused" during the discussion. Meanwhile, back in London, the PM "faced a full-scale revolt from her own party" after her speech blaming MPs on Wednesday night, the paper says.
Daily Mail Friday
Image caption The Mail reports on the events at the Brussels summit, saying the EU rejected Mrs May's bid for to postpone Brexit until 30 June, but agreed to another extension. The paper adds that in her press conference, she "appeared to express regret for her controversial remarks" earlier this week, which blamed MPs for the delay.
The Guardian Friday
Image caption The Guardian is critical of Mrs May's appeal to EU leaders for a Brexit extension while at the EU summit in Brussels, saying she "failed to persuade" them. Mrs May had originally asked for a delay until 30 June. It quotes one EU leader's aide as saying Mrs May's plea was "dreadful". The aide adds: "Asked three times what she would do if she lost the vote, she couldn't say."
The Telegraph
Image caption The Telegraph also paints the summit in a negative light for the PM, saying EU leaders "turned the screw" on Mrs May when they refused her request for a three-month Brexit delay until 30 June. Instead, she has just three weeks to find a way forward, the paper says. The paper also reports that Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee made up of Conservative backbench MPs, visited Theresa May on Monday to tell her that many of his colleagues want her to stand down.
FT Friday
Image caption The Financial Times calls the new April Brexit deadline a "guillotine date", by which time the UK must say whether it is holding EU elections, leaving with a deal or leaving without a deal. The paper leads on a quote from the Trade Union Congress and the business organisation the CBI, saying the prospect of a no-deal Brexit was a "national emergency". The FT quotes one diplomat, who said French President Emmanuel Macron asked Mrs May: "Theresa, where are we going?"
Daily Star Friday
Image caption Brexit also features on the Daily Star's front page - but the paper says it has had enough. Describing itself as a "fun-loving" paper, the Star has launched a campaign for one day of rest from any Brexit talks. Leading the campaign is the paper's "unpolitical editor". "It's time for a Break-xit," the paper says. "In other words: SHUT IT!"
Express
Image caption Meanwhile, the Daily Express focuses on the government's plans for a no-deal Brexit, saying they were being "dramatically intensified". It says the Cabinet Office was getting ready to launch "Operation Yellowhammer", the programme which outlines the government's contingency plans.
Daily Mirror
Image caption The Daily Mirror leads on the news that police searching for missing student Libby Squire have confirmed that they have found her body in the Humber estuary. The 21-year-old University of Hull student was last seen in the early hours of 1 February after a night out.
The Sun Friday
Image caption The Sun reports on footballer Adam Johnson, who was jailed for six years in 2016 for grooming and sexual activity with a girl aged 15. According to the newspaper, the ex-Sunderland player is due to be released on Friday - but is not allowed to be alone with his daughter.

Brexit again leads many of the newspapers, after the EU agreed to postpone the UK's leaving date late on Thursday night.

"One last chance" is the headline in the Times. "A three-week lifeline" for Theresa May is how the paper describes the agreement over the Brexit delay after hours of wrangling in Brussels last night.

The paper claims EU leaders were unimpressed by the case presented by Theresa May, with one reported to have described the prime minister as "evasive", "without a plan" and "confused'.

The Guardian also runs with the theme claiming: "May's appeal falls flat as EU seizes control of Brexit Date".

It says the prime minister's failure to provide clarity on what would happen if she lost a further vote on her deal "provoked" EU leaders into taking matters into their own hands - in effect taking control of her future.

And it is that future which occupies the Daily Telegraph as its headline proclaims: "Clock runs down on May".

The paper reports that the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, Sir Graham Brady, visited Mrs May in Downing Street earlier this week to make it clear that a growing number of MPs believed she should stand down over her handling of Brexit.

Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Mrs May asked EU leaders at the summit in Brussels for a delay to Brexit, before leaving them to decide

The Daily Mail provides a crumb of comfort for Downing Street.

Alongside the headline "May calls EU's bluff on no deal", it argues that the prime minister's "tough stance" in warning that the UK was ready to implement a no-deal Brexit next week forced EU leaders to be more conciliatory.

Meanwhile, "battle plans drawn up for no deal" is the headline in the Express.

The paper reports that Cabinet Office officials are preparing to launch a civil contingencies programme called Operation Yellowhammer to implement a new command structure across Whitehall.

"Brextra time then penalties" is the Sun's headline.

It suggests Theresa May endured "humiliation" after being forced to wait outside a summit room for hours as feuding EU leaders "carved up Brexit's timetable without her" over dinner.

In fact, the paper claims, the PM was sent her own solitary meal on a tray as she waited.

Cyclone Idai devastation

A poignant photograph of a family using an emptied fridge as a raft to survive in flood waters in Mozambique features in many tabloids and broadsheets.

The Telegraph reports that rescue efforts may be too late for many stranded by flood waters following Cyclone Idai.

It carries the account of an eyewitness who says he counted bodies along a 15-mile walk to safety and estimates that he saw around 400 people dead.

"Mums are throwing babies out of trees" is the stark headline in the Mirror.

It warns that UN officials believe it could be the southern hemisphere's worst weather related disaster.

Image copyright Getty Images

The Express carries the extraordinary tale of how a Second World War hero from York will finally receive a proper burial, 74 years after his death.

Spitfire pilot John Henry Coates - known as Harry - was downed in 1945 as he flew an operation near Venice.

His remains were found when a team of archaeologists unearthed his plane on a dig for historical aircraft in 2017 and his identity's since been confirmed by DNA testing.

He will be given a full military service at Italy's Padua war cemetery next week and his niece, Helen Watts, told the paper she was "delighted" he was finally getting the hero's burial he deserved.

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