Newspaper headlines: Boris's PM bid and Duke on loss of Diana By BBC News

Staff Published duration 18 May 2019

image copyright PA image caption Mr Johnson would beat Dominic Raab in a head-to-head, a poll for The Times suggests

Glum faces at a Conservative European election event in Bristol provide the front page photo for the Daily Telegraph , under the headline: "I'm a Tory MEP candidate, get me out of here".

Prime Minister Theresa May, it reports, made an unannounced appearance at a campaign rally "in front of an empty room" and "scarcely managed a smile". In the paper's cartoon , Mrs May is dressed as Napoleon on the Eurovision stage, singing: "Finally facing my Waterloo".

By contrast, Boris Johnson appears in many of the papers smiling and waving a flag on what looks like a merry-go-round at the opening of a children's playground in his constituency. The i says he is the clear front-runner to become prime minister.

The Times agrees. It cites a YouGov poll of Conservative Party members which suggests he has three times the support of his nearest rival, Dominic Raab.

The Daily Mail , which has a Survation poll, says Mr Johnson is 20 points clear. Both papers note that he's a divisive candidate. The Mail says a "stop Boris" campaign has swung into action at Westminster.

According to the Sun , Tory leadership rivals fear that Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Amber Rudd are ready to form a "dream team" to seize Number 10. The paper reports that Mr Gove is picking up support - having hosted a dinner for 50 Conservative MPs in a pub in Chelsea.

The paper says Britain needs a new prime minister fast, and Mrs May's replacement must be in power by early July.

Guardian changes style guide

The Guardian reports that it has updated its own style guide to change the way it talks about climate change. The preferred terms are now "climate emergency, crisis or breakdown". "Global heating" will replace "global warming".

The paper says it wants to more accurately describe the crises facing the world. According to its editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner , the phrase "climate change" sounds too passive and gentle when what scientists are talking about is a catastrophe for humanity.

Prince William wins praise for talking openly about the loss of his mother.

The Daily Mail says he spoke with "aching honesty" about 'a pain like no other'. The Daily Express says he should be thanked for speaking out and it calls for political action to tackle mental health issues.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Prince William with his mother Princess Diana in 1987

The Royal baby's birth certificate excites attention, confirming as it does that Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born at the Portland hospital in Westminster.

The Times reports that the cost of what it calls "a basic birth" at the Portland is £6,100. It describes the experience as Archie's "first taste of five-star luxury".

The face that launched a thousand memes graces the front pages of the Guardian The Times and the Daily Star as the papers mark the passing of Grumpy Cat - the frowning feline who became an internet sensation with millions of followers.

In his tribute in The Times, Will Pavia says Grumpy Cat's "bomb-proof state of tranquillity" at endless events with breathless members of the public reminded him of the Queen.

image copyright Getty Images image caption The owners confirmed she died on Tuesday

The Daily Telegraph thinks the hint from Health Secretary Matt Hancock that he would not call an early general election, if he became Conservative leader, will be music to some MPs' ears.

They are, it says, understandably worried about their jobs. But the Telegraph wants to see more of an air of emergency from the Tories, instead of vague talk of timetables for Theresa May's departure.

It is as if the party is inches from going over a cliff, the paper says, but everyone is too polite to say anything.

Writing in the same paper, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, says the party can win back voters under a new prime minister. Over the page, Tory MP Crispin Blunt is calling for an electoral pact with Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.

'Sinking ship'

Mr Johnson's sister, Rachel, a European election candidate for Change UK, tells The Times that she is "the rat that jumps on the sinking ship".

She says her party has "a terrible name", wants to "focus-group everything" and has "a leadership team of about eleven people". But she's not giving up hope: "I think it will be a slow build... a reverse Macron", she says.

The Guardian focuses on new research which says air pollution may be damaging every organ and virtually every cell in the human body.

The study by scientists from the Forum of International Respiratory Societies links toxic air to what the paper calls "head-to-toe harm", including diabetes, dementia, and brittle bones. It blames particles so fine that they can pass through the lungs into the blood stream - triggering an immune response that causes inflammation to flood through the body.

Troubled times at Thomas Cook is the main story for the Financial Times , which says shares in the UK's oldest travel business have collapsed in value. A big pre-tax loss, high debts and Brexit uncertainty are the chief causes, it suggests.

The FT says American hedge funds are positioning themselves for a potential restructuring that would wipe out shareholders and leave creditors in control.

With Eurovision upon us, the Daily Mirror poses the question, should we "Brexit" from the song contest? Is there any point in embarrassing ourselves further, it asks.