Newspaper headlines: Brexit consequences debated in the press By BBC News

Staff Published duration 14 February 2017

The ups and downs of Brexit are covered in some of the day's papers, as fears arise about Brits abroad while the forecast for the nation's economy improves.

According to the Guardian, a document leaked from the European parliament is warning that British expats living in European countries could face "a backlash" because of the UK government's stance on foreigners since the vote to leave the EU.

The document says that while member states will decide whether British citizens can carry on living in those countries, "the fact that it appears to be particularly difficult for foreign nationals... to acquire permanent residence status or British nationality may colour member states' approach to this matter".

It also says predictions that the "gloomy" forecast that the UK's economy would grow by 1%, made by Brussels last autumn, has been revised up to 1.5%.

The Times has alarming news for commuters. The paper reports a study by the University of Surrey, which says travelling to work by public transport exposes people to up to eight times as much air pollution as those who drive there.

According to the authors, there's little "environmental justice" - because those who contribute most to air pollution are also the least likely to suffer from it.

Researchers found that bus passengers, for example, experience higher levels of pollution, and their journeys last longer.

Diesel cars do the most harm to the wellbeing of other travellers - but motorists tend to keep their windows closed, and are protected from harmful particles by filters.

THE "I" devotes eight pages to an investigation which, it says, reveals that 19 NHS hospitals in England face closure . The paper has analysed 44 "sustainability and transformation plans" - which it describes as regional blueprints to remodel the health service - as bosses seeks to plug a £22bn "black hole" in funding.

The "I" concludes there is to be a massive shift towards "out-of-hospital" care, with patients encouraged to manage their own health needs.

Other far-reaching changes are proposed, including the loss of almost 3,000 jobs.

The Department of Health tells the paper the plans are designed to ensure best standards of care, with doctors, hospitals and councils working in partnership with local communities for the first time.

Reaction is mixed. A GP in Lancashire says the proposals merely move "the deckchairs around on the Titanic", as social care is collapsing, general practice is "on its knees", and the hospital service is in "meltdown".

But Harry Quilter-Pinner, from the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank, tells the paper the NHS cannot stand still in the face of new technology and an ageing population.

He says that while the health service is under-funded, there are many instances where treatment could be moved out of hospital and into the community - saving money and improving outcomes for patients.

The Daily Telegraph carries a warning that half a million women are being left at a higher risk of breast cancer because GPs are unaware they should be prescribing a preventative drug.

The figures come from a study produced by researchers at University College London, Queen Mary London, and Cancer Research UK.

The paper says three in four family doctors are unaware they should be offering Tamoxifen, which can reduce the risk of the disease by a third while costing only six pence a day.

image caption Prue Leith spent 11 years on the judging panel of the BBC Two cooking contest The Great British Menu.

The Sun leads with news that cookery queen Prue Leith will replace Mary Berry as a judge when the Great British Bake Off moves to Channel Four.