Newspaper headlines: MPs' 'new plot to thwart Brexit' By UK staff

BBC News Published duration 25 January 2017

image copyright Getty Images image caption Most of the papers lead on the fall-out from the government's Brexit court defeat

The Brexit Supreme Court ruling makes the lead for nearly all the papers, but one of the most eye-catching headlines can be found in the inside pages of the Daily Mail.

"Champions of the People", it proclaims , praising the three justices who found themselves in the minority as they sided with the government in the case.

The Mail attracted controversy in November when it branded three High Court judges "enemies of the people" for ruling Parliament had to be consulted over Brexit.

The Mail thinks it is not good for democracy that this decision has been now backed by the Supreme Court, arguing this, in effect, turns the EU referendum into a "mere opinion poll".

The Guardian is pleased with the Supreme Court judgement, saying it upheld a major constitutional principle in the face of what it describes as "shameful attacks" by the Brexit press.

It think the government should now publish a formal White Paper on its goals for Brexit.

But the Financial Times warns MPs against trying to micro-manage the negotiations.

The Daily Telegraph says Parliament has a duty to act responsibly and not seek a re-run of the referendum campaign.

"What's not to like when British judges in Britain's Supreme Court rule that British law makes the British Parliament sovereign," is the Daily Mirror take on Tuesday's Brexit ruling.

But it is not an opinion that is shared by all the leader writers.

It would do so at its peril, says the paper, adding: "Showdowns between the two houses rarely end well for the Lords and the country does not need yet another constitutional headache."

The Daily Telegraph says that ministers are privately warning the government is prepared to flood the Lords with hundreds of Conservative peers if it obstructs the process of leaving the EU.

Army recruits

The Daily Mail believes new recruits are being discouraged from joining the Army because of historical inquiries into soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It says the Army remains 4% below its required strength, the nearly 7,000 cadets who signed up in the past year being about 3,000 short of the target.

A group campaigning to end the investigations tells the Mail that the figures are no surprise, asking why anyone would want to join the forces when they could be hounded for years.

The Financial Times thinks the world ought to start taking seriously US President Donald Trump's threat to impose trade tariffs in order to protect American goods.

In an editorial it argues that many still assume he is bluffing in order to win better deals.

But, it says, the first few days of his presidency have shown that he is not posturing and he thinks protectionism will make America richer.

The FT wonders how far he will get before he and his country both discover just how wrong he is.

Trident

The reported Trident missile failure may have made the headlines in recent days, but the Times reminds us that problems involving nuclear submarines are not new.

It reports on a CIA document which has revealed that a Soviet submarine and an American one, which was carrying a 160 nuclear warheads, crashed into each other in 1974 near Holy Loch, about 30 miles from Glasgow.

One expert says the crash was so serious there was a danger that the crews could have tried to defend themselves - believing they were under attack - leading to the possibility of war.

The growing number of homes with wood-burning stoves is partly being blamed for worsening air pollution levels in London , according to the Daily Telegraph.

Air quality readings in some parts of the capital were worse this week than in Beijing.

The weather and traffic pollution have led to the alert but, according to experts at King's College, wood fires were also responsible with more than a million homes now having the stoves.

image copyright PA image caption David Cameron explains in the Times why he is becoming the president of Alzheimer's Research UK

On its front page, the Daily Mirror again has photos of drivers clutching their mobiles while out on the road.

Four months after the paper began its campaign to change public attitudes, it asks, "When will we ever learn?"

A traffic officer tells the paper he has heard every excuse in the book from the drivers he has pulled over.

He says one builder tried to throw his phone out the window when he was caught, while another woman insisted she did not own one, until it went off under the seat where she had hidden it.

The Mirror says cars and vans are deadly weapons in the hands of what it calls "mobile phone morons" and calls for more of them to be banned.

In the Times , David Cameron explains why he is becoming the president of Alzheimer's Research UK.

He says there needs to be a deeper understanding of the disease so that dementia is not accepted as inevitable in later life.

The paper says the article represents his "first important political intervention since leaving Downing Street".