Newspaper headlines: No-deal 'abuse of power' and Trump climate snub By BBC News

Staff Published duration 27 August 2019

image copyright Getty Images image caption The Archbishop of Canterbury could chair public meetings on ways to avoid a no-deal Brexit

The Times leads with a warning to the Archbishop of Canterbury not to interfere with the political process of Brexit.

It reports that the Most Rev Justin Welby is in talks with a cross-party group of MPs to chair a series of public meetings to discuss alternatives to leaving the EU without a deal

The prominent Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith tells the paper the archbishop's involvement is "deeply inappropriate" and "designed to destabilise Boris Johnson's position".

Several senior clergymen disagree, saying the results could bring reconciliation at a time of national emergency.

The Guardian's top story is also Brexit-related. It reports that a legal document prepared for the Labour party concludes that Boris Johnson would be committing the "gravest abuse of power" if he shut down Parliament to force through a no-deal Brexit.

The shadow attorney general, Shami Chakrabarti, sets out how such a move by the PM would be open to an immediate legal challenge.

The Daily Telegraph shows a smiling prime minister at the G7 summit with his thumb up - which it interprets as a sign of optimism for a deal.

The paper says Mr Johnson is sending his chief Brexit adviser to Brussels tomorrow to discuss alternatives to Theresa May's plan, saying the EU wants to "get things done".

In its editorial the Telegraph says Mr Johnson's charm offensive at the G7 has shown the EU "he is a reasonable man", but one who is serious about leaving on 31 October.

'Packing Parliament'

The Times says negotiator David Frost is known as Number 10's Brexit "sherpa" . An unnamed source tells the paper he's been holding "intense talks with his EU counterparts for the past month.

The Daily Express says "dozens" of people it describes as "Brexit Heroes" will be ennobled, suggesting they will include business people who bankrolled the Vote Leave campaign

It mentions one possible candidate as the Wetherspoons pub boss, Tim Martin.

The Daily Mirror editorial is scathing about such a move by the PM. It says "packing parliament with unelected Tory crony Brexit peers", while sidelining elected MPs, would be "the authoritarian arrogance of a tin-pot dictator".

The culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, has used The Daily Telegraph to announce a series of changes to planning laws aimed at improving the network coverage for the latest 5G mobile technology

image copyright Getty Images image caption Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan promises to change planning laws to improve 5G networks

She says rural areas will be a priority, with bigger and taller phone masts being allowed to improve connectivity.

Ms Morgan accepts there maybe complaints about "eyesore" masts in beauty spots, but pledges there will be environmental safeguards as better mobile coverage is brought to towns and villages.

Foreign visitors have left the NHS with unpaid bills amounting to £150m , according to the Daily Mail.

Its figures come from a freedom of information request, and the paper says the amount is equivalent to paying 6,000 nurses.

The Times is among the papers reporting that the so-called "Bank of Mum and Dad" was being so generous it could leave millions facing poverty when they retired

Researchers for Legal and General say large numbers of people aged over 55 have used their savings, or pension pots, to help their children or grandchildren to buy homes.

The paper says the average amount given or lent was around £24,000 and a quarter of those who had done so were not confident of having enough money for their own retirement.

And the BBC is preparing to launch its own rival to Amazon's Alexa , according to The Guardian, with a pledge that it will be able to understand regional accents.

The paper says BBC staff voices from around the UK will be used to help develop the software for it.

The launch is due to take place next year with the focus on helping people find their favourite programmes and interacting with online services. The voice assistant will be activated by saying the word "Beeb".

'A good innings'

The Mail says there is a "new-found reluctance" among frontline staff to chase payments, which the paper says some doctors leaders see as racist.

The Mail points out that tough new guidance on identifying overseas patients and receiving payment was issued by the Department of Health in 2017.

One man's amazing cricketing exploits are featured in the Daily Express. But this time it is not Ben Stokes but the veteran pace bowler Cecil Wright, who is about to give up the game at the age of 85.

He is thought to have taken more than 7,000 wickets in a career that began in Jamaica in 1959.