Newspaper headlines: 'Ready, steady, chaos' as Tory rebels 'face axe' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 2 September 2019

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"Back me or I'll sack you" is the headline on the Daily Mail's front page, summarising Boris Johnson's message to his own MPs.

It says the prime minister has vowed to "boot out" any Conservative who votes against the government this week, to try to block a no-deal Brexit.

One Tory rebel, a former cabinet minister, tells the Times that he would stand as an independent Conservative in an election if he was deselected.

He questions a "purity test" for Tory MPs, saying voters would be put off by the idea of a "mass purge".

Writing on the Spectator website, James Forsyth thinks upping the stakes will have an impact on some "waverers", arguing "there will be those who are reluctant to end their careers in the party over this issue."

But he says the approach is risky, as a Tory MP who decides they have nothing left to lose could then vote down the government, and back an alternative prime minister.

The Daily Mail reports on the "backlash" against cabinet minister Michael Gove, after he suggested on the BBC on Sunday that the government might ignore any law passed to prevent a no-deal Brexit.

image caption Michael Gove suggested the government might ignore any law passed to prevent a no-deal Brexit

It says he has been called a "disgrace to democracy", while the Independent says the prime minister has been accused of presiding over an "elective dictatorship".

But the Sun leaps to their defence in its editorial. "Why should the government promise to enact some as yet unwritten law being cooked up by Remainers, with their rogue Speaker?", it asks - saying all bets were off when Remain MPs promised to respect the referendum, then betrayed every pledge.

The Times reports that high street pharmacies are to offer free on-the-spot checks to shoppers from October, checking their blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

It says the aim is to save 150,000 lives over the next decade.

The Daily Mail says experts think it will reach the millions of people at risk of strokes or heart attacks, but who rarely visit their GP so don't realise the danger.

It calls the latest idea "eminently sensible", saying it encourages people to take responsibility for their own health.

The Daily Telegraph says the medical director of NHS England, Prof Stephen Powis, calls the approach a "game changer". But the paper notes that the plan has been launched alongside a proposal to scrap the current "health MOTs" which are available at GP surgeries.

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Membership of the National Trust has risen above 5.5 million, according to the Guardian. It says the charity spent a record amount on conservation last year - more than £148m.

But the Telegraph notes that it failed to meet its target for visitor numbers and says the Trust is blaming the hot weather.