The high-stakes Brexit dinner in Brussels on Wednesday night between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen is given top billing by almost all the papers, with the severity of the crisis lost on none of them. “Deadlock at dinner” is the Mail’s headline, with the paper describing a “dramatic night over fish supper”. It characterised as “gloomy” a No 10 source’s statement that “significant obstacles” and “very large gaps” remained before the Sunday deadline set for a deal.
The Telegraph’s splash says: “Four days to save trade deal after Brussels talks go badly”. It reports Johnson did not want to leave “any route to a possible deal untested” but he was downbeat about the chances of an agreement after his three-hour dinner with von der Leyen. It says there are warnings that even if talks restart, a deal is by no means guaranteed.
The Guardian’s final edition front page says “PM and EU agree Sunday deadline to avoid no deal”, with EU leaders warning that an deal is on the edge of failure. It says Johnson told the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, that Britain could not accept terms that would tie the UK to EU rules. As Johnson met von der Leyen, the EU commission president warned him to “keep distance”, adding that after he removed his mask he needed to “put it back on immediately”. The PM responded: “You run a tight ship here, Ursula, and quite right too.”
The Express’s first edition took an unsurprisingly tough line, with “Boris: take it or leave it”, saying the prime minister was “standing firm” against EU attempts to “punish” the UK for leaving the bloc. Its second edition went further with the headline: “Boris walks away from the EU”. It says Brexit negotiations have “just 72 hours to save trade talks”.
The Times also supports Johnson, saying the PM “refuses to back down in face of Brexit deadlock”. It says the PM said EU leaders must “drop proposals to punish Britain” if it failed to follow future European regulations, while also insisting a good deal was within reach. The paper also said Keir Starmer had hinted Labour would back a deal, promising to vote “in the national interest”.
The i goes for a food pun over the leaders’ high-stakes dinner, with the headline: “Fudge for last supper at EU talks”. It says Johnson has highlighted fisheries and regulatory standards as the main sticking points, but also asks “Cheddar or Brie?”, quoting a supermarket boss saying Brexit could change the way Britain eats.
The Mirror splashes on “Tesco’s food stockpile for no-deal”, saying the supermarket giant is building up food supplies for the new year, amid fears talks in Brussels will fail. It quotes Tesco’s chairman, John Allan, warning of empty shelves and soaring prices if the UK defaults to World Trade Organization terms after 31 December: “We’re stockpiling as much as we can,” Allan says.
The Sun devotes just a small front page slot in its first edition on the Brexit talks, with the headline “PM meal or no deal bid”, saying Johnson tried to break the deadlock in Brussels. It’s second edition however has the headline, “BoJo vow after 3hr fish supper: Let’s mullet over”, with the paper noting the talks will be back on Sunday.
The FT devotes its Brexit coverage to “Britons barred from entering EU on January 1 as virus shutters come down”. It says the end of the Brexit transition period means the UK will be subject to a system that allows “non-essential travel from only a handful of non-EU countries with low Covid-19 infection rates”, according to the European commission.