Front-page editors rise to the occasion on the day that Theresa May swore Britain would leave the EU

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Dramatic headlines today as Theresa May puts her Brexit deal before parliament for a third time on the day that the UK was supposed to exit the EU.

For the second day running the Daily Mail and Daily Express feature very similar front pages. The former has a picture of Big Ben lit up at night, the latter a picture of the Houses of Parliament similarly illuminated.

The Mail’s front page says: “11pm tonight was meant to be the moment Britain became a proud sovereign nation once more”. The Express’s says: “Today at 11pm Britain was to be free from the shackles of the EU”. The Express calls MPs failure to deliver Brexit on schedule the “Darkest hour for democracy”.

Daily Express (@Daily_Express) In tomorrow's @Daily_Express

- Darkest hour for democracy as #Brexit day dawns with NO EU departure

- Jill Dando's killer 'still out there 20 years on'

- Behind the scenes with #LineofDuty stars pic.twitter.com/dJjK40RScO

The Telegraph says the prime minister faces a “day of reckoning”. “On the day that Britain was supposed to have left the EU, the vote could be the final roll of the dice for Mrs May after two years of Brexit negotiations”.

The Telegraph (@Telegraph) The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph: 'The day of reckoning' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/cKaqU1Aite

The Times says Britain faces another year in the European Union if MPs refuse to approve May’s deal during an emergency parliamentary sitting on the date the country was due to leave. The paper has little hope for the passage of the deal given both Jeremy Corbyn and the DUP have rejected the idea, meaning the EU is preparing for a “long extension” to article 50.

Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) THE TIMES: Deadlocked Britain faces a further year before Brexit #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/6OM7JdjoEo

The Sun continues its tradition of never making a cultural reference from later than the 1980s, by focusing on Arlene Foster – whom they say has been urged to save Brexit – and her “Brexy’s midnight runners” with the headline “Come on Arlene!”

The Sun (@TheSun) Tomorrow's front page: DUP leader Arlene Foster was last night urged to save Brexit by backing the PM in a crunch vote. https://t.co/RiwvLRz6rn pic.twitter.com/vYi3dHGL9o

The Guardian says that May promised more than 100 times that the UK would leave the EU on 29 March but instead she will be submitting “only half of her Brexit deal to a vote today”. The paper also features a front page picture of Michael Gove with his dog Snowy, whom they say is the bookies’ favourite to replace May – Gove that is, not Snowy.

The Guardian (@guardian) Guardian front page, Friday 29 March 2019: May tries to buy time as ministers say: go now pic.twitter.com/x4gBf5WMzU

The i focuses on another frontrunner to take the top job, with a photograph of former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, whom it says is “‘primed and ready’ for No 10”.

Oly Duff (@olyduff) Friday's front page of i



Johnson 'primed and ready' for 10 Downing Street



Former Foreign Secretary was meeting Tory MPs from across the party today as his team prepare to launch his bid to become Prime Minister#tomorrowspaperstoday #skypapers #bbcpapers #Brexit pic.twitter.com/ttR8dyEglg

The Mirror is clearly utterly fed up with Brexit, devoting less space to it (under the headline “It’s Brexit Day … and May still can’t get her dire deal done”) than it does to a story about Kate Middleton visiting a scout and the Jill Dando case, which is its splash.

Daily Mirror (@DailyMirror) Tomorrow's front page: We'll never get justice for Jill #tomorrowspaperstodayhttps://t.co/i0QDFNYTe0 pic.twitter.com/CAzVNyVqBa

The FT also runs a non-Brexit splash – “Fresh doubts over Huawei’s UK future as security chiefs raise alert” – but does feature a story about the Brexit march, saying the issue has reached the “end of the line”.