Newspaper headlines: Lib Dems 'detoxify' and MP in spy claim By BBC News

Staff Published duration 19 May 2019

image copyright Reuters image caption Mrs May also wrote in The Sunday Times, asking MPs to back her Brexit proposals in a vote next month

And it's now "high time we deliver". So says Theresa May in an article in The Sunday Times , adding that she still believes there's a majority in Parliament to be won for leaving the EU with a deal.

Mrs May insists that when she makes a final attempt to get her Brexit plan through parliament next month, MPs won't just be told "to think again" but will be asked to look at a "new, improved deal, with a fresh pair of eyes".

According to the Observer , this latest offer will include changes demanded by Labour, the DUP, and rebel Tory MPs. But a Matt cartoon in the Sunday Telegraph appears sceptical about how much will change. It shows a banner being unveiled outside Parliament, with the slogan: "PM's Brexit deal - back despite popular demand!"

The Independent reports that Nigel Farage could face an investigation by European Parliament officials over claims that he failed to declare nearly half a million pounds in gifts from insurance tycoon Arron Banks.

The Brexit Party leader has insisted that any donation was made after the EU referendum, when he was planning to leave politics, and was a purely private matter. But the paper says Mr Farage remained an MEP - meaning the gifts would "likely have had to be declared" under transparency rules.

European elections

With just days to go before the European elections, The Sunday Times says a populist surge has seen support for the two main parties fall to "historic lows".

Writing in the paper , Lord Heseltine reveals he will back the Liberal Democrats on Thursday - the first time he will have cast his vote for a party other than the Conservatives.

The Tory peer, who wants a second referendum, accuses the Conservatives of being "infected by a virus" - and says they risk descending "deeper into darkness" over Brexit

image copyright Getty Images image caption Lord Heseltine said the government was "myopically focused" on "forcing through" Brexit

The Observer describes what it calls "a desperate battle" by senior Labour figures to shore up their own support. Labour MP Neil Coyle says the party will be punished for appearing to face both ways on Brexit - telling the paper Jeremy Corbyn has "breathed life back into the Lib Dem carcass" with his approach to leaving the EU.

In the paper, Andrew Rawnsley mourns the loss of a political middle ground - warning that the chances of this concluding with no Brexit, or a no-deal Brexit, are rising sharply.

A cartoon in The Sunday Times shows two spectators at the Eurovision Song Contest, watching members of the same band trading blows on stage. "That will be the United Kingdom entry," one tells the other.

'Witch-hunts'

The Sunday Telegraph leads with a suggestion that Theresa May personally blocked ministers from putting forward legislation which could have protected former soldiers from prosecution for alleged offences during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

It has seen a memo, sent on Mrs May's behalf, which states that veterans should be offered "equal, rather than preferential treatment" relative to other groups affected by a consultation dealing with the legacy of the conflict.

The Sunday Express demands an end to what it calls "witch-hunts" against former soldiers - saying they should finally be given the peace of mind they deserve.

According to The Mail on Sunday , government scientists are considering a national campaign to vaccinate all babies against chickenpox. A leading paediatrician tells the paper that while many consider the childhood illness to be a rite of passage, for a few, it can cause serious complications including sepsis and brain damage.

The Daily Star on Sunday reports that one of the country's best-kept secrets has been revealed - the gender pay gap that exists in all three of the UK's spy agencies. It says some leading secret agents are being paid nearly 10 per cent less than male colleagues for doing similar work - an issue that emerged on a Radio Four programme last week.

The headline in The Sun on Sunday: "Female Spies Get Less Money-Penny".

image caption Rallies against the prosecution of ex-soldiers who served in Northern Ireland were held across the UK on Saturday

The Mail on Sunday suggests the government's flagship policy to put workers on company boards has been left "in tatters".

A survey of the 100 biggest listed companies found that none had appointed a worker to its board of directors - and more than a third had asked existing directors to represent employees. The paper says many of those tasked with representing ordinary workers are "highly-paid business titans".

The Sunday Express reports that two Special Boat Service teams have been flown to the Persian Gulf to protect UK merchant shipping. It says the move comes amid growing tension between the US and Iran - which is suspected of being behind a recent attack on four oil tankers.

The Sunday Telegraph believes Tehran is using proxies to test the resolve of the US - and the mission to sabotage the ships was calculated to be severe enough to cause alarm without starting a war.

Finally, an analysis of Britain's waste water has revealed that cocaine use has more than doubled in seven years. According to the Telegraph , tests of the metabolised drug in sewage suggests users in London are taking nearly 200,000 doses of the drug every day - with consumption almost as high during the week as at weekends.