Newspaper headlines: Pact 'to oust Boris Johnson' and EU told 'back down' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 7 August 2019

image caption "Who is bluffing over Brexit?", the Spectator asks

Two of the front page headlines starkly illustrate the entrenched positions in the Brexit impasse.

The Telegraph says the intervention by Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of no-deal planning - accusing the EU of refusing to engage in fresh talks - marks an escalation in the war of words between Westminster and Brussels.

The Daily Mail says Mr Gove's language suggests the government is ready to blame intransigence from Brussels if a compromise does not materialise and Britain leaves without a deal.

The Guardian urges the two sides to try to move on from their squabbling about whether they can even talk - because the consequences of not talking will be serious.

The shadow chancellor's declaration that Labour would not block a second referendum on Scottish independence makes the lead for the Times

It describes John McDonnell's stance as a significant shift of policy. The paper says the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has opened the door to a "progressive alliance" with Labour if the two parties are able to form a majority after a general election.

image copyright Reuters image caption Nobel Prize-winning US author Toni Morrison has died

The story is reported in a number of other papers too - with the Mail running the headline : "Labour gets into bed with SNP".

The Telegraph leads with the Treasury's proposals to relax George Osborne's controversial tax rules on pensions, which have been blamed for consultants and GPs in England and Wales turning down work, undermining patient treatment.

The Times leader column thinks the announcement is not before time. It says the move should bring an end to the absurd situation that has led many doctors to work less to avoid being hit by large tax bills.

Much of the Guardian's front page is given over to a picture of the American writer, Toni Morrison - the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature - who has died at the age of 88

The picture is accompanied by a quote from the author, Chigozie Obioma, saying that, until her death, she was the greatest living American writer.

Other writers pay their tributes inside the paper. For Ben Okri , Toni Morrison burst into the world of literature at a time that needed her supremely wrought perspective, and a voice that had not existed before.

image copyright PA Media image caption Dean Weymes, 24, won the top prize on the National Lottery's Set For Life draw

A man who has won £10,000 a month for the next 30 years in the National Lottery's Set for Life draw, is widely featured.

The Express says Dean Weymes is the first winner to go public since the game was launched in March.

The Mirror - which leads on the story - reports that the Amazon worker handed his notice in the day after his win. In the "Why are you leaving?" section of a form provided by his employer, the 24-year-old wrote: "won lottery/retirement".

Finally, researchers have found a way of saving your chips from being snatched by hungry seagulls, in what the Times calls the annual battle of the seaside promenade: give them a hard stare.