Newspaper headlines: 'Bitter Brexit row' and Harry's 'Netflix and bill'
By BBC News Staff
Published
image captionThe Financial Times says the EU's chief Brexit negotiator will warn that there's no chance of reaching a trade agreement by the end of the year, unless the UK "stands by its previous commitments". The paper says Tuesday's warning is part of the "fallout" from the "revelation" in the FT's Sunday edition - that Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to pass a new law overwriting parts of last year's Brexit withdrawal agreement relating to future trade in Northern Ireland.
image captionMr Johnson's move to publish the new law - called the UK Internal Market Bill - is because he believes the withdrawal agreement is "legally ambiguous" and would leave Northern Ireland isolated from the rest of the UK, the Daily Telegraph reports. Lord Frost, the UK's lead negotiator, will tell Mr Barnier it is time for the EU to recognise the "reality" that Britain is a sovereign state, the paper says. But it adds that Brussels insists the withdrawal agreement is legally binding.
image captionWith Mr Johnson's self-imposed deadline to strike an agreement by 15 October "looming", the i says his "bitter row" with Brussels has left the prospect of a trade deal "on the brink". The paper also carries quotes from ministers who claim the new law seeks only to make "minor clarifications" on the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland.
image captionThe Guardian says "suspicions" over the UK's Brexit strategy have been "laid bare" in leaked diplomatic cables, seen by the paper. One EU official writes that the PM's latest strategy is "concerning" giving the complexity of points that have yet to be agreed on in a future trade relationship, such as the UK's hope to have full access to the EU market to sell its fish there, versus the EU's demand to full access for its boats to fish in UK waters. These issues "will not be easy to iron out with just a phone call", a leaked cable says.
image captionBut the Daily Express says Mr Johnson remains "defiant" and that he was quoted in the subject line of email, sent to party supporters, as saying: "I will not back down." In dramatic language echoing the i's headline, the Express says the PM's "vow" to stand firm has left the trade talks "teetering on a knife edge".
image captionThe latest Brexit development is causing "growing unease" among Tory backbenchers, the Times says, as Downing Street insists to the paper that its new law is a mere "safety net" to protect trade across the UK. Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock's stark coronavirus warning for young people - "don't kill your gran" - makes the lead headline further down the front page.
image caption"Netflix and bill" is the playful headline on the Metro's front page, as the paper brings news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have repaid the £2.4m of money the taxpayer "forked out" to renovate their former home on the Windsor Castle estate, Frogmore Cottage. The Metro says the couple have now "paid off their debt to the nation" after sealing a "mega bucks" production deal with US streaming service Netflix.
image captionThe Daily Star takes full credit for the "months of pressure" it put on the Sussexes before their decision to pay the £2.4m. "It's the Star wot won it!" the headline claims. Poking fun at the duke and duchess, the paper opts not to name them and instead captions their picture: "Some normal people doing normal things, nothing to see here".
image captionThe Sussexes' payout makes their "divorce from Britain final", the Daily Mail says. Meanwhile, the tabloid leads on what it brands a "furlough farce" - up to £3.5bn of furlough cash has been paid out in error as a result of "fraud and blunders", according to figures from HMRC. It quotes former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith as saying this is "exactly why" the scheme needs to end.
