Boris Johnson’s “Brexit showdown” with officials in Brussels dominates most of the papers ahead of the summit expected this week between the prime minister and the European commission’s president, Ursula Von der Leyen. After it emerged on Monday that the pair had talked on the phone for more than an hour without making much “tangible progress” on breaking the trade impasse, the nascent Downing Street spin operation made sure the papers were supplied with a picture of Johnson talking on his landline. The Mail picked up the cue with a headline reading “Last call for a deal” alongside the picture of Johnson on his prime ministerial landline, noting also that it has been 1,629 days since the referendum backed Brexit in June 2016.
The Express has the same picture but chooses a more bellicose headline with “Showdown in Brussels”, while the i also features Von der Leyen on the phone with the headline “PM heads for Brussels in bid to break deadlock”.
The Times has a similar choice of words with its splash headline reading “PM heads for Brexit showdown in Brussels”.
The Telegraph, which also features the prime minister on the phone next to a headline saying “Johnson on mission to Brussels”, nevertheless strikes a fairly gloomy note, saying that the outcome of the talks “could define not only his premiership but Britain’s place in the world for decades to come”.
It also quotes EU sources observing that while the UK could seal a deal, Johnson’s trip might be designed “to show that he tried everything he could to get a deal even if he expects to come home empty-handed”. The Guardian’s headline says “PM heads to Brussels after UK holds out olive branch”, reporting that Britain has offered some concessions on the critical issue of the internal market bill in order to secure a deal before finally severing ties on 1 January.
The Financial Times says “Johnson and Von der Leyen to meet in search for way out of trade impasse”, but its main story is on a big business deal: “Uber pulls plug on self-driving car unit to take stake in rival Aurora”. The other big story of the day is the beginning of Britain’s biggest ever vaccination programme as the first people prepare to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech jab against coronavirus.
The Mirror’s headline says “Our fightback starts today” although the Daily Record in Scotland finds the lure of wartime imagery irresistible: “V day”, its headline reads. The V-day line is also irresistible to editors at the Telegraph, Times and Express. The Metro’s splash head says “Roll up for first jabs”.