Newspaper headlines: EU offers Brexit deal 'hope' and Palace 'fury' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 20 September 2019

Hopes for a Brexit breakthrough are rising, says the Daily Mail, after Jean-Claude Juncker said a deal could be reached.

The Daily Telegraph believes there are growing signs that the details of a deal could be hammered out when the prime minister meets EU leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York next week.

The "i" describes Mr Juncker as "upbeat", while the Huffpost says comments by the president of the European Commission that he doesn't have an emotional relationship to the backstop are likely to be welcomed by the government.

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The Times, the Sun and the "i" agree that David Cameron's rebuke from Buckingham Palace for revealing he asked the Queen to intervene in the Scottish referendum was "unprecedented".

As the Sun puts it, the former prime minister was "ticked off" for "blabbing". The Times adds that the speed and public nature of the Palace's criticism is thought to reflect growing concern in royal circles that the Queen is being dragged into political battles over Brexit and prorogation.

The Daily Mail accuses Mr Cameron of an "outrageous breach of trust". The paper asks: "Why disgracefully drag the Queen into a row? He's got a book to sell of course."

The Matt Cartoon in the Daily Telegraph shows a wall mounted plaque being unveiled. It reads: "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II went up this wall on learning of David Cameron's revelations."

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"Thomas Cook on the brink" is the Daily Mail's front page headline. The paper thinks the travel agent could go bust in 48 hours, plunging the plans of hundreds of thousands of customers into turmoil.

It points out that the demise of one of the world's oldest travel companies would also lead to huge job losses and leave the taxpayer facing a hefty bill to bring customers home if flights were grounded.

The Sun estimates that up to 140,000 British passengers could be stranded if Thomas Cook collapses. It reports that flying them home would require the biggest ever peace time repatriation.

Thousands of reports of alleged rape have been inaccurately recorded by the police over the past three years, according to the Guardian.

The paper claims that the result was some cases going unrecorded and investigations not being carried out. The revelations suggest perpetrators may go on to reoffend, it says.

The National Police Chiefs' Council says it is working to further improve the accuracy of crime reporting.

Finally, most schools have a class clown or two, says the Times, but one head teacher is encouraging as many pupils as possible to play the fool.

Stand-up comedy lessons have been introduced to teach sixth-formers at Sheffield Girls' School how to deal with hecklers and awkward silences as their jokes fall flat.