'How dare they!': what the papers say about the battle over Johnson's Brexit deal

The papers almost all focus on the prospect of a new vote on the prime minister’s Brexit deal on Monday. While some report optomistically about Boris Johnson’s chances of getting his deal through, others are furious at what they see as “sabotage” from Labour in the form of an alliance that could possibly push for amendments, including a second referendum.

The FT reports that things are looking fairly sunny for the prime minister: “Johnson sticks to Brexit deal as faith rises in Westminster victory”. The paper says: “Boris Johnson will make a new attempt today to win parliament’s backing for his Brexit deal, amid growing confidence in Downing Street that he can overcome a series of setbacks at the weekend and now has the support of the 320 MPs needed for victory.”

The Metro also reflects Johnson’s optimism: “‘Now we have the numbers’”, says its headline, which quotes the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab.

The Guardian reports that Labour is seeking an alliance with rebel Tory MPs and the DUP for amendments that would force Johnson to “drop the deal – or accept a softer Brexit”. The paper says this decision means “Boris Johnson’s hopes of winning a clear majority for his Brexit plan faced a new threat” and “raises the prospect that a new alliance could form at the 11th hour, forcing the government into a softer departure or a confirmatory vote on whether to leave at all.”

The i has a similar report, with “Labour to back deal … if second referendum included”, saying that the shadow Brexit secretary has sought amendments to the deal “including softer Brexit and closing the ‘no-deal trap’”.

Other papers are livid at the fact the deal did not pass over the weekend, and angry at what they see as Labour’s attempts to, as the Daily Mail puts it, “cancel Brexit by sabotaging withdrawal legislation”.

The paper says that Labour plans to hijack the government’s legislation with amendments to keep Britain tied to the EU’s customs union – and to set up a second referendum. The paper’s front page coverage employs many of the words that MPs begged Boris Johnson to stop using in an emotional parliamentary debate last month, including: “sabotage” and “hijack”.

The Express screams: “How dare they! New plot to hijack Brexit”. The paper says the “Labour plot” was “met with fury last night”.

“Downing Street has accused Labour of trying to ‘frustrate and cancel’ Brexit after the party announced plans to hijack Boris Johnson’s deal with amendments for a second referendum and customs union with the EU,” says the Times. The paper cites a cabinet minister who says the amendments “could leave [the prime minister] with no choice but to accept an extension and make a renewed push for a general election”.

The Telegraph says that Johnson faces a “‘guerrilla war’ over new vote on deal”. The paper said “Sir Oliver Letwin, a former Conservative cabinet minister, conspired with Labour to destroy a historic weekend sitting of Parliament that had been expected finally to approve Brexit.”

The Sun’s lead story is “Bad blood brothers”, about comments made by Prince Harry in an ITV documentary that he and his brother are “on different paths”, but it does have a small front page story on the Brexit goings-on: “It’s BoJo v Brexit bandits: Round 2”, says the paper, which says Johnson’s “move to break the deadlock could be scuppered by Commons Speaker John Bercow and Remainer MPs.”

The Mirror also has the Duke of Sussex’s comments on its front page, but it leads on an investigation into working conditions at Amazon’s biggest UK warehouse, who have accused their bosses of “modern slavery”.