Wednesday’s papers focus on the PM’s Brexit proposals and how any deal could be received by MPs. …
By BBC NewsStaff
Image caption The Guardian says Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “on the brink” of reaching a Brexit deal with the EU after making “major concessions… over the Irish border” – including creating a customs border down the Irish Sea. But one well-placed source has told the paper that Mr Johnson may face a challenge to get enough MPs to back the deal, saying the proposals will be “extremely difficult for the DUP to swallow”. Image caption The Daily Telegraph, however, reports that Mr Johnson is “increasingly optimistic” that both the EU and UK Parliament can agree a Brexit deal in the coming days. The paper says it understands that French government officials have “reservations” over the current plans. Nonetheless, negotiators in Brussels have begun to work on a draft text, says the paper, with Mr Johnson set to meet EU leaders during a three-day summit beginning on Thursday. Image caption The Financial Times says the EU wants more concessions from Mr Johnson ahead of the start of the meeting. At home, the British PM has been in “eleventh hour” talks with Northern Ireland’s DUP leader Arlene Foster over a “big cash payment” to secure her support – and Tory Eurosceptics could be willing to back a deal in what the paper calls a “crucial breakthrough” for the PM, the paper adds. Image caption The Times says that even if Mr Johnson and the EU can agree a deal it might not be finalised by the PM’s “do or die” 31 October deadline. The paper says German and French officials have suggested that “technical details might take until 1 January to finalise”. Image caption The Daily Express, however, says the PM is “on the brink of achieving a Brexit deal that is best for Britain”. The paper says negotiators will work through the night to “resolve the row over the Irish border” and the deal could be published on Thursday morning. Image caption The Metro focuses on the fallout from the racist abuse suffered by England players in Bulgaria on Tuesday. “Racists get a kicking” is the paper’s front page headline, alongside a picture of a man making a Nazi salute. UEFA has charged the Bulgarian FA with the racist behaviour of their fans following the incident, which also led to the Bulgarian FA’s chief quitting his role. Image caption The Daily Mirror also focuses on the racist abuse. It reports claims that the abuse was part of a “plot by local neo-Nazis” who wanted to get the match abandoned. The paper also criticises UEFA’s “weak” response after England were also charged over disruption of Bulgaria’s national anthems. Image caption PFI deals, which finance projects such as schools and hospitals privately, are “out of control”, says the i. The paper reports that one school was charged £25,000 for three parasols, a hospital paid £5,500 for a new sink, and there are calls for public inquiry into spiralling cost of road maintenance. Image caption The Sun pictures five-year-old Tafida Raqeeb, a brain-damaged girl who has been flown to Italy for treatment following a legal case which “stopped the NHS from turning off her life support”. Image caption The Daily Mail picks up on an NHS-commissioned review which has called for cervical cancer tests to be made more convenient. The report suggests that women should be offered lunchtime mammograms or smear tests to end the collapse in screening rates, the paper says. The paper is one of a number to picture the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Pakistan on the first of their five-day visit. Image caption And finally, the Daily Star says stag and hen parties have sparked anger by offering “huge money” to throw people with dwarfism during “sick drink-fuelled games”.
