Newspaper headlines: Johnson language backlash and US whistleblower By BBC News

Staff Published duration 27 September 2019

image copyright PA Media image caption Dominic Cummings was speaking at a book launch

Boris Johnson's approach to Brexit dominates the headlines.

The i leads with the comments of his sister, Rachel Johnson, who says her brother is using the "strongman gambit" to whip up voters.

The Daily Telegraph examines what it calls a rare public appearance tonight by the prime minister's senior adviser, Dominic Cummings.

It says he suggested MPs were out of touch and would get a "terrible shock" if they thought another referendum would "wash" with voters.

A senior cabinet minister has told the Times that the country will face a "violent, popular uprising" if another referendum overturns the result of the first one.

'Aggressive language'

The language heard in the Commons this week is the subject of criticism and analysis by the paper's columnists.

The "shouting and aggressive language" must stop, demands the Daily Mirror , calling on Mr Johnson to set the tone.

Writing in the i , Sean O'Grady says the prime minister has adopted "militarist language" as part of an effort to create a populist revolt.

image copyright Getty Images

The Sun insists his words reflect the powerful emotions felt by Leavers.

And the Daily Mail suggests Mr Johnson's language is "quite tame" and accuses the Left of being "hypocritical," while the Daily Express say "true democrats should not shy away from clear and robust language".

But experts warn in the Guardian that the heated rhetoric risks triggering violence in the streets.

The Times says Mr Johnson's inflammatory language is "ill judged", further polarising the debate and making a deal less likely.

HuffPost UK says Mr Johnson has helped his party enjoy its most successful fundraising for a September. It goes onto suggest that internal polling indicates that the word "surrender" has real resonance with key voter groups.

The Daily Mirror accuses the BBC of making a "serious error of judgement" by upholding a complaint against the Breakfast television presenter Naga Munchetty.

image copyright Getty Images

She was found to have breached impartiality rules after she criticised US President Donald Trump for telling black politicians to "go home".

The Mail said 150 black broadcasters had demanded a reversal of the ruling.

The Guardian says BBC staff suggested that the complaints unit was dominated by older white men who might not have understood the full impact of Mr Trump's words. The Channel 4 news presenter, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, tells the Times it was perplexing given what other "older white men have got away with saying on the BBC".

The Financial Times carries a picture from 1976 of Jacques Chirac, cigarette in hand, saying France laments the loss of "Le Bulldozer" - a nickname the FT says he was given because of his "determination and ambition."

image copyright AFP image caption Jacques Chirac's political career closed with the end of his second term as president in 2007

Le Parisien suggests that, despite having been booed while in power, Mr Chirac's legacy has been kind - with people remembering him only as a sympathetic president, full of charm.