Newspaper headlines: Bercow 'out of order' over Brexit?
- Published
Almost all the papers lead on the latest Parliamentary ding-dong over Brexit.
Several focus on Speaker John Bercow's decision to allow MPs to vote on an amendment - eventually lost by the government - forcing the PM to bring a plan B to the Commons within three days in the event her deal is rejected next week.
The Daily Mail - which produces an extract from its leader column on the front page - describes Mr Bercow as an "egotistical preening popinjay who has shamelessly put his anti-Brexit bias before the national interest".
Meanwhile, the Sun accuses the Speaker of an act of Brexit-sabotaging skulduggery.
Mr Bercow's intervention was not supported by precedent or the rules of the Commons, according to the New Statesman website, external.
Another website, the Huffington Post, quotes one Westminster source, external saying the Speaker had essentially "set fire" to the parliamentary rulebook.
Whatever his motives, the Daily Express argues, Mr Bercow's actions were a shameful abuse of power and he's not fit to hold the great office of Speaker.
Daily Telegraph commentator Philip Johnston is given room, external on the front page to complain that: "As was apparent yesterday, [Mr Bercow] is a deeply divisive figure and the wrong person to be occupying the chair at such a critical stage in the Brexit process."
According to the paper, Tories are plotting revenge with a plan to table motions proposing that his pay be cut by 10% or his pension removed.
A cabinet source tells the Times Mr Bercow's decision meant that the relationship between the government and the Speaker was "beyond breaking point - it is broken".
Losing control?
Other papers examine the prime minister's position. Theresa May is "losing control of Brexit", according to the "i".
The Guardian sees "May's power ebbing away as she suffers another humiliating defeat". It says the government's second parliamentary setback in as many days leaves the PM further constrained and increasingly boxed-in.
As the Times sees it, her Brexit strategy is in tatters.
Business Secretary Greg Clark, writing for the Politico website, external, warns that in recent weeks, confidence from foreign investors has been shaken by the Brexit debates in Parliament. These are monitored closely, and with mounting alarm, in boardrooms around the world, he says.
"The dire prospect that we could tolerate trading with our largest and closest market on World Trade Organisation terms - the most rudimentary that exist between any nations on earth - is bewildering to them," he adds.
'Pointless bloodshed'
There's widespread coverage of Tuesday evening's fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Jayden Moodie at Leyton in East London.
"When will this pointless bloodshed end?" asks the Daily Star, while the Sun wonders: "What's the Mayor doing about it?"
The Guardian says Jayden may have been the target of a drugs gang.
"Welcome to London 2019," the Telegraph declares, "a city that reckons itself to be the greatest in the world but which increasingly at its margins resembles Bogota in Colombia at the height of its drug wars".
It has a picture of Jayden - a promising boxer - meeting his idol, the world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua.
Prime numbers
Waving goodbye to a fortune?
The world's richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and his wife, MacKenzie, are widely pictured following the announcement that they are to divorce after 25 years of marriage.
Accoding to the Mail, Mr Bezos faces the most expensive, external divorce in history, with his fortune of $140bn likely to be divided in two, sending him plummeting down the list of billionaires.
The Guardian says that if the couple, external do split their assets equally, Mrs Bezos would become the richest woman in the world overnight - putting her fifth in the world rich list.
Breaking news
Finally, a closely guarded royal secret was let slip by accident yesterday.
The Telegraph reports that Meghan, external, the Duchess of Sussex, has been working behind the scenes since marrying to Prince Harry to decide her first royal patronages and announce them to the world.
But someone at the National Theatre got a little over-excited about its new royal patron and celebrated the news on its website before an official announcement from Kensington Palace.
The Mail says the post, external was taken down quickly - but not before royal watchers had spotted it.