Friday briefing: EU must drop 'unworkable' Irish border stance, May says

Top story: ‘Now is the time for the EU to respond’

This is Alison Rourke with the top stories this Friday morning.

Theresa May will use a speech in Belfast today to tell the EU in no uncertain terms that there can be no Brexit deal that treats Northern Ireland differently to the rest of the UK. She’s expected to say that any such arrangement would go against the Good Friday Agreement and that it is “now time for the EU to respond” to the white paper agreed at Chequers and to show the same flexibility as her government and “not simply to fall back on to previous positions which have already been proven unworkable, but to evolve their position in kind.” The PM’s decision to push back so strongly against the EU and Ireland’s demands for a backstop will fuel fears in Dublin that she is backsliding on the joint agreement in December to secure insurance in the event of no deal. Also on Friday, the EU’s 27 other states will get the chance to respond to the Chequers proposal when its general council of ministers meets in Brussels.

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‘That’s gonna be special’ – Donald Trump’s plan to invite the Russian president to Washington in the autumn appeared to take the US intelligence chief, Dan Coats, by surprise. Appearing on stage at the Aspen Security Forum, Coats asked the host to “say that again” and laughed when she confirmed Trump had asked his national security advisor, John Bolton, to extend the invitation to Putin.

It comes after a tumultuous week for Trump in which he backtracked on what he said on election meddling at his now infamous press conference with Putin and was roundly criticised by politicians on both sides of Congress.

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Inside Facebook’s Ireland vote – We will get an unprecedented look under the hood of Facebook this morning, as the company publishes data on political advertising during Ireland’s abortion referendum campaign. It will give details on the amount spent targeting voters between 1 March and 25 May, and the number of ads that were bought. We should also find out how much proposed spending Facebook rejected, after foreign organisations were banned from paying for online campaigns inside Ireland.

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Child spies – British police and intelligence agencies are using children under 16 to spy on terrorists, gangs and drug dealers. Lord Terfgarne, chair of the Lords’ committee, said “enabling a young person to participate in covert activity associated with serious crime for an extended period of time may increase the risks to their mental and physical welfare”. The Home Office minister, Ben Wallace, suggested to the committee that children may have “unique access to information”, particularly in the case of gangs.

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Guilt-free chocolate? – Cadbury Dairy Milk lovers across the country will feel better this morning about their sweet teeth as the company prepares to launch a new version of its famous bar – with 30% less sugar. A team of 20 scientists, nutritionists and chocolatiers has worked for almost two years to finesse the new recipe, which the company says does not rely on artificial sweeteners, colours or preservatives. Instead it will include more fibre in place of some of the sugar.

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Don’t look back in anger – Liam Gallagher’s shout out to big brother Noel on Twitter has music industry insiders wondering if the Oasis brothers may be ready to bury their decade-long feud. Writing on Twitter, Liam appealed to his brother, albeit while taking a dig at Noel’s band: “Earth to noel listen up rkid I hear your doing gigs where people can’t drink alcohol now that’s the BeZarist thing you’ve done yet I forgive you now let’s get the BIG O back together.”

Lunchtime read: Is this Iran’s ‘pivotal moment’?

Weeks of sporadic protests across Iran over water scarcity, unpaid salaries and the mounting pressure from the Trump administration have its people wondering how close their country is moving towards a precipice. “People are desperate to find a way out,” a 28-year-old graphic designer, out of work for four months, tells the Guardian’s Saeed Kamali Dehghan. “If it’s war, so it be, but quick; if it’s reaching an agreement, so it be, but quick; if it’s regime change, so it be, but quick.”

Analysts fear the country is edging towards a political, economic and even environmental cliff edge. “In no period of time before this, we’ve had so much anguish, so much anxiety, so much despair about the future of the country,” says Sadegh Zibakalam, a professor of politics at Tehran University. “Even this [level of despair] didn’t exist during the Iran-Iraq war years. Despite all the problems during the war, and the rationing, there was hope, because people believed the war would one day finish, but now, the problem is like having an illness that never gets cured.”

Sport

Geraint Thomas has added more fuel to the Team Sky leadership question after winning the iconic Alp D’Huez stage of the Tour de France, to record back to back stage victories. The Welshman has extended his race lead over four-time winner and teammate Chris Froome by 1 minute and 39 seconds, and as Will Fotheringham writes, with Thomas presumably in yellow until Tuesday further doubts will begin to nag Froome.

Kevin Kisner is the early pacesetter after the first round of the Open, on a day when big names struggled. Tiger Woods, Jordan Speith and Rory McIlroy all have cause to be disappointed.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s off-season transfer splash continues with Brazilian Fabinho joining record signing Alisson in a £43.7m move.

And, shocking news from the world of figure skating, where Kazakhstan’s first-ever Olympic skating medallist Denis Ten has been killed, after a reported robbery attempt in which the 25-year-old was stabbed.

Business

A clash between the Department for Education and the Treasury over how to value the government’s student loans portfolio may have led to more than £600m in income from future loan repayments being overlooked, the National Audit Office has warned. The NAOI said: “While HM Treasury uses one method to support its decision to sell student loans, the [DfE] uses another method to calculate the cost of student loans when they are added to the government’s balance sheet.”

The pound is buying $1.302 and €1.118.

The papers

The Guardian headline today is “Children used as spies in covert action against gangs and terror”.

The Daily Express runs the Home Office statistics about crime as its lead story, dubbing the country “Lawless Britain”. The Telegraph has “Jail is not working, warns Gauke”, citing the justice minister’s comments that jail should give inmates hope.

The Times splash is “Public to be warned every week over no-deal Brexit”, on a story about the government issuing weekly advice about how to prepare for a “disorderly Brexit”.

“What a cosy cover-up!”, says the Daily Mail, as MPs grant themselves anonymity accused of expenses fraud or sexual harassment.

The Daily Mirror says Boris Johnson is still in his official flat while renting out his own home just miles away: “Boris clings on for free in 20m pound house”.

The i’s main story is “Found: Novichok hit squad”, and the FT reports “BoE probed risks to KPMG’s viability after string of scandals”. The Sun calls the Irish PM an “Air head” for threatening to block British planes flying over Ireland.

For more news: www.theguardian.com

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