What the papers say – January 30

PA
·3-min read

The nation’s papers are led by the EU backtracking on its move to temporarily override part of Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol in a row over vaccines.

The Guardian reports Brussels was forced into a “humiliating” U-turn after briefly invoking Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to stop the unimpeded flow of vaccines from the bloc into the UK.

The Times says the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier intervened to encourage the EU to reverse its decision.

The story also features on the front of The Independent and Daily Mirror, with the Daily Express comparing the behaviour of EU bosses to the “mafia”.

The Sun and Daily Mail both take similar views of the situation, describing it as a “vaccine war”.

Elsewhere, The Daily Telegraph leads with backlash following French President Emmanuel Macron’s criticism of the effectiveness of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose jab represents a “vaccine leap” which will “protect” the UK and the rest of the world, according to the i weekend.

The FT Weekend leads with financial regulators in the US defending amateur traders in their ongoing battle with hedge funds.

And the Daily Star says former UK Vaccine Taskforce boss Kate Bingham has given up Dry January in order to celebrate the arrival of the Novavax jab.

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