Newspaper headlines: Vaccine priorities and Brexit deal block

By BBC News
Staff

Published: 8 hours ago

image captionThe Guardian says NHS staff are no longer top priority to receive the coronavirus vaccine, with care homes first in line amid fears of delays getting doses to the UK. The paper says the new immunisation strategy is "likely to disappoint and worry thousands of frontline staff". It also reports on a blast at a waterworks in Bristol which has killed four people.

image caption"Britain hits back over the vaccine", says the Times. The paper reports that the regulator has stood by the jab approval after Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and infectious disease, said Britain's fast decision could make people reluctant to get vaccinated. It also carries the latest on the Eton free speech row, with the head teacher of the famous independent school defending his decision to sack a member of his staff.

image captionThe Brexit deal "on line over French fishing", says the Daily Telegraph. It reports talks are heading for a showdown with "fears Macron may torpedo agreement at the last moment". The paper says there had been hopes a deal was close but the British delegation was "taken aback after the EU made a series of 'destabilising' last-minute demands". The striking main image is of a snow-covered Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, under the headline "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow".

image caption"What a cheek!" is the Daily Express's take on the Brexit negotiations, as it says the EU has blocked talks at the 11th hour. It says the latest round of talks "did not go well" and British negotiators were thrown by the EU team introducing "new elements" which complicated things.

image captionThe Metro focuses on "Gaffin' Gavin", referring to the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, who it says has been accused of sounding like a toddler after claiming Britain got the Covid-19 jab approved first because "we're a much better country" than everyone else.

image captionThe Financial Times leads on a boost for aerospace group Boeing as it reports budget airline Ryanair has made the first orders of the "troubled 737 Max" aircraft since two fatal crashes within five months. The paper says it is likely the airline negotiated a big discount on the aeroplane's $8bn (£5.95bn) list price. It also reports that it is "crunch time for Brexit talks" as it devotes the main front page image to EU negotiator Michel Barnier. It warns talks are hanging in the balance with less than a month to go.

image caption"Vaccine arrives in the UK" is the i newspaper headline. It says the world's first doses will be distributed to 53 vaccination hubs this weekend, with hospitals ready to roll out jabs from Tuesday. The paper adds MI5 has advised ministers to keep freezer locations, required to store the jab, secret to prevent sabotage.

image captionThe Daily Mirror has called on the government to use cash paid back by supermarkets to help support the struggling pub trade. The hospitality sector has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the paper says it should benefit from £1.8bn in rates relief returned by supermarket chains.

image captionThe Daily Mail leads on Home Secretary Priti Patel's "fury at stars' insult to Windrush victims". She has accused Labour MPs and "do-gooding celebrities" of insulting those who suffered due to the Windrush scandal by comparing them to "murderers and thugs" who were being deported from Britain. It comes after a campaign to prevent a deportation flight earlier this week.

image captionAnd the Daily Star asks if 2020 can get any stranger after a politician called Adolf Hitler won an election in Namibia. It says the newly elected councillor says his parents probably did not know what Hitler stood for and says he has "no plans for world domination".

The headline in the i newspaper announces "Vaccine arrives in the UK", or as the Sun puts it: "The needle has landed". The Daily Express reports that industrially-frozen shipments of the jab turned up on the back of unmarked lorries, which rolled off Eurotunnel freight carriages in convoy. The Times says health officials have dismissed global criticism of Britain's rapid approval of a vaccine as sour grapes. According to the paper, they say regulators in other countries who have been beaten to the decision will ultimately make the same judgement.

The Guardian's main story is that NHS frontline staff will no longer be prioritised for the vaccine after a drastic rethink about who should come first. It says NHS bosses have warned that the UK's first consignment of 800,000 doses may be "the only batch we receive for some time" - raising questions about how soon further supplies will arrive and how long frontline personnel and vulnerable groups will have to wait. Care home staff, and in-patients and out-patients aged over 80, will take priority, the paper adds.

image copyrightPA Media

image captionFrench demands for access to fish in UK waters are reported to be a factor holding up a Brexit trade deal

Several papers blame French demands for access to fish in UK waters for the setback in the Brexit talks. According to the Financial Times, President Macron wants to preserve a substantial chunk of existing fishing rights for the French fleet - and is also insisting on a strict UK state-aid regime. The Daily Telegraph quotes UK sources as saying Paris has been "lobbying hard" among EU member states to agree fresh demands on these issues.

A number of papers report that Sir Keir Starmer faces the prospect of unrest over his plans for Labour to vote in favour of any Brexit deal. The Times says at least one shadow cabinet member and several shadow ministers will consider resigning if Labour backs an agreement. According to the paper, they believe the party should abstain and wash its hands of the consequences of a hard Brexit.

The Daily Mirror is calling on the government to save the hospitality industry with the nearly £2bn that supermarkets are handing back in business rates relief given at the start of the pandemic. It suggests setting up a rescue fund to support pubs, bars and restaurants who may struggle to survive beyond Christmas. Supermarkets have done the right thing - the paper says - and now is the time for the chancellor to do the right thing too.

image copyrightPA Media

image captionWestminster is split on whether Father Christmas will require a vaccine before delivering presents

Finally - with the vaccine expected to be rolled out within days, the Telegraph says ministers are at odds with scientists over whether Father Christmas will need the jab before delivering presents. It reports that the deputy chief medical officer for England, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said yesterday that Santa Claus would be "at the top of our list" to be vaccinated. But hours later - the paper goes on - Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, insisted he would not need the jab, telling MPs that Santa had been allocated a special travel corridor, while his elves would count as "key workers".