Newspaper headlines: May's 'last stand' amid 'cabinet divide' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 3 April 2019

Proposed Brexit talks between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn feature heavily on the front of the day's papers.

"It's time for national unity - over to you, Mr Corbyn" - declares the Daily Express.

The paper believes the prime minister is taking a massive gamble by inviting what it calls the "hard left Labour leader" to thrash out a new Brexit plan.

The Guardian quotes unnamed sources who say it will be extremely difficult for the two leaders to find an agreement.

The Daily Mirror's head of politics, Jason Beattie, says Mr Corbyn "will be aware that Mrs May's forthcoming departure means any agreement could be ripped up by her successor" which is "hardly the basis for any meaningful negotiations".

image copyright Reuters image caption There was a wide-range of reactions to Theresa May's televised speech from Downing Street

The Daily Telegraph accuses the PM of ignoring the will of her cabinet by ruling out a no-deal Brexit.

On its front page it carries the photos of 14 ministers who - it claims - "implored her" to keep no deal on the table.

The paper's story has been disputed by another minister, Claire Perry, who says only four cabinet members spoke explicitly in favour of no extension and no deal.

She says the story is based on "totally inaccurate leaks from a colleague behaving reprehensibly".

The Daily Mail says senior Tories fear their party could be on the verge of a split that could bring down the government.

The Times, meanwhile, appears to despair of all politicians.

It urges "right-minded people" to join our "dysfunctional parties" en masse and bring them back to a sensible place where they reflect the balance of opinion in the nation.

'Culture of sexism'

Away from Brexit, the Daily Mail, the Times and the Telegraph all report the anger of female GPs who have resigned from posts at the British Medical Association because of what they describe as a culture of sexism.

They say women doctors have been groped, belittled and harassed and that a BMA member sent a naked photo to one female colleague.

The allegations were originally made on the website, GP Online

The chairman of the BMA has said he's "appalled" and his organisation is investigating.

Several papers report that two major betting firms have withdrawn new games that allow customers to stake up to £500 every two minutes - after a warning from the Gambling Commission.

The Times , the Mail and Sun say that Betfred and Paddy Power introduced the new roulette-style games on Monday - the same day that the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals was reduced by law from £100 to £2 to protect customers from excessive losses.

The Commission has urged operators to "act responsibly".

'Ma'ammageddon"

A speech for the Queen to deliver to the nation if Britain came under nuclear attack is one of the exhibits at a new Cold War exhibition, featured in the Sun and the Guardian

It was written by civil servants taking part in exercises in 1983 to prepare for the prospect of nuclear war.

Nicknamed "Ma'ammageddon" the script reads: "Not for a single moment did I imagine that this solemn and awful duty would one day fall to me."

The "protect and survive" exhibition at the National Archives in West London also includes a mock-up of a homemade nuclear fallout shelter, which in the 1980s, householders were advised to build under the stairs.

The Daily Telegraph reports the claims of scientists who believe a new wonder drug might slow or even reverse the process of ageing, and alleviate the effects of illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease and cancer.

The drugs, known as senolytics, are being tested on humans in trials led by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minesota.

The Daily Mail, the Guardian and the Telegraph all pick up a story from the Washington Post , which says the Saudi authorities have paid millions of pounds to the children of the murdered journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

He's believed to have been killed by a government-sanctioned hit squad at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

His two daughters and two sons are said to have each been given luxury homes and monthly payments of thousands of pounds.

The Post - which employed Mr Khashoggi - says the payments are intended to ensure that the family "continue to show restraint in their public statements".

image copyright AFP

The Sun reports that a giant statue of the pop star Michael Jackson has been removed from outside a McDonalds restaurant in The Netherlands in case it puts off customers, following recent claims of child abuse.

The franchisee has sold it to the Dutch Michael Jackson fan club.

Universities competing for students are spending millions on marketing, according to the Guardian which obtained the figures with Freedom of Information requests.

The biggest spenders on advertising are apparently institutions in the lower and middle ranks of the UK league tables.

The University of Lancashire spent £3.4m in one year, while the University of the West of England had a budget of £3m.