Newspaper headlines: May begins Brexit 'hard sell' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 26 November 2018

Brexit makes the front of most of the newspapers for another day, after EU leaders approved Theresa May's deal at a summit.

The Financial Times describes a solemn mood in Brussels on Sunday as EU leaders contemplated legal texts which the paper says amount to the biggest reversal of the European integration project since it began in the 1950s.

Looking ahead, the Daily Telegraph predicts an "almighty flap" with Brussels over fishing, now that the deal is signed.

The paper says President Emmanuel Macron of France showed a "glimmer of Gallic steel" when he hinted that the UK will be made to stay in the customs union if French fishermen are not permitted access to UK waters.

The Sun accuses Mr Macron of making a "gloating threat", describing him as "puffed up and pompous".

For the Daily Express, it is an "incendiary intervention" that will raise fears France is adopting an "aggressive stance" prior to the UK's departure.

image copyright EPA image caption Theresa May with European Council President Donald Tusk at Sunday's summit in Brussels

"Now for the hard bit" is the headline for the Daily Mirror which, like nearly every paper, devotes its front page to setting out the scale of the challenge now facing the prime minister in pushing her Brexit deal through Parliament.

Her "high-risk strategy", according to the Times, is a "frantic" two-week campaign focused directly at the electorate.

The Daily Mail heralds the start of a fortnight of "arm-twisting" - with rebel MPs set to be offered "sweeteners" in return for their backing.

The newspaper reports that some Brexiteers have been offered peerages - while others have been "bought off" with changes to bills.

The Daily Express warns that with just 107 days left before the UK leaves, MPs need to "stop bickering" and "get on with it".

Several papers report on manoeuvring behind the scenes by senior ministers, concerning back-up plans in case Theresa May's efforts fall short.

The Sun says Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and Environment Secretary Michael Gove have joined forces across the Brexit divide to push for membership of the European Free Trade Association.

The arrangement would give Britain full access to the single market but freedom from EU fishing and agriculture rules and the European Court of Justice.

And the Financial Times claims that Andrea Leadsom - a Eurosceptic who is leader of the Commons - is talking to colleagues about a "managed" no-deal Brexit.

Unsafe medical implants

According to the paper, British regulators received 62,000 "adverse incident" reports over the last three years with one third of patients suffering serious repercussions - and more than 1,000 dying.

Several victims tell their stories. The British champion hurdler Dai Greene explains how he missed five years of competition when a mesh implanted to repair a hernia frayed and became entangled with the nerves in his pelvis.

'Debt time bomb'

The return of "super-sized" mortgages is the subject of a report in the Daily Mail.

Citing data from the Bank of England, the paper says first-time buyers now borrow an average of 3.68 times their annual income - the highest since records began in the 1970s - and outstripping the levels seen just before the financial crisis.

And the paper says a "war for customers" has led to surge in so-called "sub-prime" mortgages - where customers are targeted despite having a poor credit history.

The Mail's leader column worries about a "debt time bomb" and urges regulators to launch a crackdown with the utmost urgency.

image copyright PA image caption Some banks are lending up to six times a borrower's salary, the Mail says

The Daily Express reports on anger in Northallerton in North Yorkshire, about what it says could be one of Britain's worst Christmas trees.

The structure - erected outside the town hall - is described as a 20ft green cone "devoid of decoration" and surrounded by a tall metal fence.