What the papers say – August 22
The papers mostly lead with Brexit, with 30 days being the new timeline to sort out the Irish backstop.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit dealings on his trip to Germany dominate Thursday’s newspapers.
In a theme common across today’s papers, The Guardian says Angela Merkel has challenged Mr Johnson to come up with a solution to avert a no-deal Brexit “in the next 30 days”, putting responsibility for stopping the UK crashing out of the EU firmly at the Conservative leader’s door, while The Mirror covers similar ground.
The Independent also reports on Ms Merkel giving the UK a 30-day deadline for a Brexit deal, as does The Times.
The i says the Prime Minister accepts the German Chancellor’s “very blistering timetable” to break the Irish backstop impasse.
The Daily Express reports that Mr Johnson won a major concession from Angela Merkel last night when she gave him a month to propose an alternative to the border backstop.
The Daily Mail says Mr Johnson received a Brexit boost after Ms Merkel said the Irish backstop could be ditched.
The Sun leads with a story on a tanning addict who was refused a £70,000 loan for his dream home after mortgage brokers discovered his £500-a-month obsession.
The Financial Times says falling debt costs are raising the pressure for more spending on public projects.
The Daily Star reports that a football pundit blames the “VAR handball chaos” on Brexit.
