Newspaper headlines: 'Chicken Boris' jibe as rivals clash over Brexit By BBC News

Staff Published duration 17 June 2019

Many of the papers give their assessment of the televised debate involving five of the contenders for the Conservative leadership.

"Rivals gang up to stop Boris", is the headline in The Daily Express. The paper says Boris Johnson faced a string of attacks from his rivals as they intensified their efforts to halt his advance on Downing Street.

The Times says the real winner of Sunday night's debate was not the former foreign secretary but Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

It says each of the candidates' proposals for delivering Brexit have well-rehearsed flaws which suggests a general election before 2022 is highly likely.

The Guardian says that while Brexit produced some of the strongest clashes of the debate, the candidates also sought to set out their vision for Britain by making a series of promises on literacy, social care and student debt.

It says Mr Johnson's decision to stay away made Dominic Raab what it calls the "no deal" villain, enabling the other four candidates to gang up on him.

image copyright PA image caption From left to right: Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, Dominic Raab and Rory Stewart

The sketch writer John Crace says Mr Johnson's decision to send along a lectern in his place proved to be an inspired move as it answered the questions much more directly and honestly than he ever would.

As regards the debate, the paper says Mr Johnson was right to sit it out because of the way the other contenders had been allowed to gang up on Mr Raab, the only other "hard" Brexiteer.

It claims analysis showed that Mr Raab was given the least amount of time to answer - a third less than Mr Gove.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Organisers said nearly two million people took part in a mass protest in Hong Kong

A number of papers carry pictures of the huge crowds which flooded the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday in the latest show of defiance against the authorities.

In an editorial, the Financial Times applauds the demonstrators. It says that in a world where might is seen as right, Hong Kong offers an example of moral and political boldness in the face of power.

An investigation by the Daily Mail suggests that those who grow and use cannabis in some areas of England are being let off.

The paper claims the proportion of users who are charged with possession of the drug has fallen in recent years, sparking fears that cannabis is being unofficially legalised.

image copyright AFP image caption Could another G20 meeting be on the cards?

Britain and Russia are examining the scope for a thaw in relations, according to the Guardian.

One possibility is setting up a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Theresa May at the G20 summit in Japan later this month.

If it went ahead, it would be the first meeting of its kind since the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury last year.

And finally, the Sun leads with its own exclusive story. It highlights the plight of a furniture maker - Michael Northcroft - who has been told by safety inspectors to stop sweeping his floor with a broom because the dust it creates can be harmful.