Newspaper headlines: Johnson 'fishes for votes' and Hashem Abedi's extradition By BBC News

Staff Published duration 18 July 2019

image copyright Libyan Interior Ministry image caption Hashem Abedi was arrested in Tripoli by members of the Rada Special Deterrence Force a day after the Manchester Arena attack

The Daily Mirror reports the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber was flown back to Britain after a "secret deal" was struck with Libya. In return, the paper says, the UK has agreed to protect Tripoli in the country's civil war.

A source tells the Mirror that British officials negotiated with the UN-backed government as opposition forces closed in on the capital - making them an offer they dared not refuse.

Officials in Tripoli tell the Times that Hashem Abedi's extradition was delayed because Libyan citizens cannot be extradited to the UK.

The problem was apparently solved after the 22-year-old's nationality was "removed".

The Guardian leads on Theresa May's last major speech - describing it as a "defensive swipe" at those in her party who pursue ideological purity at any price.

But it says she repeatedly declined the opportunity for self-reflection when asked if she herself had been too unwilling to compromise.

Patrick Maguire, in the New Statesman , says it was a "surreal" and "barely believable" performance - highlighting a "glaring contradiction" between Mrs May's rhetoric and her actions.

"Final speech hails skill she never used" is the Daily Mirror 's take. The sketch writers are less kind. "Thunderingly banal and blisteringly bland," says Michael Deacon of the Daily Telegraph

media caption May: "I'm worried about the state of politics"

Boris Johnson is pictured waving a wrapped kipper on the front of some of the papers, as part of their coverage of the final Conservative leadership hustings.

The Daily Express says it handed the fish to Mr Johnson ahead of his speech, to make a point about the impact of EU regulations on a smokery on the Isle of Man. Staff there apparently have to include an icepack in packages sent to customers, increasing their production costs.

Over-75s are to be visited at home by TV licence "outreach teams" to make sure they pay up, reports the Daily Telegraph

It has picked up on comments by a BBC executive who assured MPs on the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee that the visits would be carried out "as sympathetically as possible".

image copyright Getty Images image caption Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Lenny Henry are among those criticising the move to make over-75s pay to watch TV

Age UK tells the paper the situation has all the makings of a "slow-motion car crash" which could be "deeply upsetting" for elderly people.

The Times says US President Donald Trump's efforts to distance himself from the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein have been dealt a blow, after footage emerged of them partying with cheerleaders in Florida, in 1992. It is one of many papers to show images from the film.

In it, Mr Trump pats a woman on the bottom, and jokes with Mr Epstein, who has been arrested on fresh charges of underage sex trafficking, which he denies.

The US magazine Vanity Fair says the footage is "nauseating". One of the cheerleaders tells the Washington Post that at the end of the night the future president was throwing people in a swimming pool, and that it was "all in good fun".

image copyright Getty Images

The Daily Mail worries the traditional police helmet - a symbol of law and order for more than 150 years - could be at risk of extinction. It points to a decision by the Gloucestershire Constabulary to outfit their officers with US-style baseball caps instead.

The Mail says it is an attempt to appeal to teens; critics tell the paper it makes officers look more like Burger King workers. The Daily Telegraph is deeply unimpressed. Its editorial says baseball caps are as un-British as baseball itself - and more associated with criminals than guardians of the law.

The Guardian highlights an ambitious plan to save the world's cities from catastrophic sea level rises.

In a study, the paper says, scientists calculate spraying trillions of tonnes of snow onto Antarctica could prevent the collapse of its ice sheets.

image copyright A.E.Hogg/CPOM/Leeds Uni

The researchers tell the Guardian the "apparent absurdity" of the project reflects the extraordinary scale of the threat posed by climate change.

The Daily Express reports that more than 50 animal species have come to Britain over the last decade because of climate change. The newcomers include one of Europe's most beautiful birds, the paper says: the bee-eater, known for its striking multi-coloured plumage.

There is plenty of coverage of newly-released files from the National Archives.

The Daily Telegraph focuses on concern among officials in 1994 that John Major might cause embarrassment by inadvertently winning the first ever National Lottery draw.