BBC News

Newspaper headlines: EU trade deal deadline makes front pages

By BBC News
Staff

Published
image captionThis week's UK-EU trade talks make the front pages once again. The Daily Telegraph says Boris Johnson will give the EU 38 days to strike a deal in time for the European Council's October meeting, or else Britain will "move on". The paper quotes the prime minister saying: "If we can't agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free-trade agreement between us."
image captionThe Daily Express says Mr Johnson is warning the EU that "no deal" would be a "good outcome" for the UK, ahead of talks this week at which the two parties will attempt to agree terms for a long-term trading relationship.
image captionThe Times has a similar front-page headline. It says Mr Johnson believes any disruption to business caused by the Brexit transition period ending without a trade deal could be mitigated. It says the PM will declare: "We will be ready to find sensible accommodations on practical issues such as flights, lorry transport, or scientific cooperation, if the EU wants to do that."
image captionThe Financial Times suggests the government is risking the collapse of trade talks with Brussels by planning legislation that will override last October's Brexit withdrawal agreement. It quotes one source saying the move would "clearly and consciously" undermine agreements on Northern Ireland.
image caption"Heartless and clueless" is the Daily Mirror's headline to a story about a Conservative MP taken to task by footballer Marcus Rashford over a comment about parents struggling to feed hungry children. Asked on Twitter whether it was the government's job to feed hungry children, Kevin Hollinrake had replied: "Where they can, it's a parent's job to feed their children."
image captionBoris Johnson will crack down on disruptive protests in the wake of action by the Extinction Rebellion group, according to the i. Climate change campaigners blockaded roads leading to newspaper printing presses, affecting the distribution of some of Saturday's papers.
image captionThe Daily Mail carries a column from Home Secretary Priti Patel, in which she tells Extinction Rebellion protesters: "You are committing criminal acts and be in no doubt you will face the full force of the law". Its lead story says ministers are considering testing people for coronavirus eight days after their arrival at UK airports, in a bid to reduce quarantine periods.
image captionMeanwhile, the Guardian reports the steep rise in the number of people testing positive for Covid-19, which was revealed in Sunday's figures. The paper says it has raised concerns the government has "lost control of the pandemic just as people return to work and universities prepare to open".
image captionStill images of a man suspected of killing one person and injuring seven others in a spate of stabbings across Birmingham are used on the Metro's front page. The paper describes a "two-hour reign of terror" during which the knifeman "struck randomly at four different locations".
image captionAnd the Daily Star says the UK will "roast" thanks to a "tropical surge" stretching into October, with temperatures as high as 25C (77f) next week and again at the end of the month.
For a second consecutive day, front-page headlines feature strong words about the Brexit process from the UK side.
"38 days for Brexit deal or we walk" is the Daily Telegraph's summary of the prime minister's stance. It says Boris Johnson is moving decisively to break months of deadlock between negotiators, and that if there's no breakthrough by 15 October, Britain will accept No Deal and move on.
However, the Financial Times breaks the news of a plan by the government to introduce new legislation that would override key parts of the withdrawal agreement relating to Northern Ireland.
"UK plan to undermine withdrawal treaty threatens Brexit trade talks," reads its headline. And while the government insists this is merely a "fallback plan" should negotiations with Brussels fail, a source tells the FT it would be "a very blunt instrument" - and that ministers would be acting in "full cognisance" of breaching international law.

'Organised crime' criticism

image copyrightPA Media
The i leads with a vow from Mr Johnson to crack down on disruptive environmental protests after demonstrators blocked printing presses at the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail says Home Secretary Priti Patel is considering changes to the law to rein in what it terms Extinction Rebellion "fanatics". It says options being considered include designating the group as an organised crime gang.
However, the paper's columnist, Stephen Glover, warns against "making martyrs" of what he calls Extinction Rebellion's "misguided" leaders. He wonders whether police officers have "gone soft", and says they should more strictly enforce existing laws - such as those on obstructing the highway and aggravated trespass.
The Sun, meanwhile, reports that a great-grandmother from Harrow, north-west London, tripped on a manhole cover and bloodied her nose when visiting the newsagent to find out why her Sunday paper had not been delivered. It quotes Eileen Cook, 95, calling the protestors "selfish".

Dance off

"Sickly Come Dancing" is the front-page headline in the Sun, which reports 'panic' on the set of Strictly, after a TV crew member tested positive for coronavirus. Production teams were sent home so the set could be cleaned, the paper says.
The show's professional dancers have been isolating in a "biosecure bubble" and filming had been due to start on Tuesday. "We can't take any cha-cha-chances," says the paper.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Telegraph suggests as many as a third of restaurants and cafes could be undermining the NHS's Test and Trace programme by failing to take customers' details.
Of 57 establishments visited in Bristol, Colchester, Newcastle and Leicester, 18 either didn't collect information or operated a voluntary system, it says.

Current affairs

Electric fences could soon become a thing of the past, reports the Times. It says cows could instead be penned by virtual enclosures.
Epping Forest in Essex is one of six sites testing out GPS electric collars, which zap cattle if they wander outside boundaries drawn by farmers using an app.
Natural England says it's monitoring the trial to see if it complies with animal welfare standards.