0:00:00 > 0:00:02a very high standing in the rest of the world.That was Alex Forsyth,
0:00:02 > 0:00:04our political correspondent, with the Prime Minister in Jordan. Now,
0:00:04 > 0:00:14the Papers...
0:00:22 > 0:00:24With me are Laura Hughes, political correspondent
0:00:24 > 0:00:26at the Daily Telegraph, and political
0:00:26 > 0:00:28commentator Lance Price.
0:00:28 > 0:00:36Welcome to you both. We will look at the front pages. There is widespread
0:00:36 > 0:00:40reporting that a deal on Brexit has been struck, at the moment. But
0:00:40 > 0:00:42let's bring you up-to-date with the front pages.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44The divorce deal for Brexit is reached, reads
0:00:44 > 0:00:50the Metro's front page.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53The FT claims the UK has bowed to the EU's demands on the size
0:00:53 > 0:00:54of the Brexit divorce bill.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58The Telegraph also leads with the agreement on the Brexit bill.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01There is also a picture with Meghan Markle, and has a buzzard
0:01:01 > 0:01:08matchmaker. The i says the reported Brexit deal is close, whereas the
0:01:08 > 0:01:17Times see the -- says the UK will be paying EU bills for years to come.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20This one in the Guardian, £50 billion divorce Bill. And the
0:01:20 > 0:01:27suggestion that David Davis might be a matchmaker for the royal wedding!
0:01:27 > 0:01:29The Express suggests there's a rise in diabetes sufferers
0:01:29 > 0:01:35also developing cancer.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Laura, Lance, welcome to both. Laura, I start with you. It was the
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Telegraph that began at all this evening with the reports suggesting
0:01:43 > 0:01:48a deal had been reached. Let's look at the front page first of all. Talk
0:01:48 > 0:01:53us through it.Yesterday my colleague Peter Foster over in
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Brussels got the story and it is a massive moment, obviously. I think
0:01:56 > 0:02:01it shows that the Prime Minister is very determined to get Britain to a
0:02:01 > 0:02:04place where in December we come to some sort of agreement with the EU
0:02:04 > 0:02:09and move onto trade talks, and that is the priority. Some papers have
0:02:09 > 0:02:12taken the stance that Britain has caved in the EU demands and it is
0:02:12 > 0:02:15interesting to the Prime Minister has gone ahead and this figure is
0:02:15 > 0:02:19significantly higher than the one she proposed in her Florence speech
0:02:19 > 0:02:25and this might upset a lot of Tory Eurosceptics. The FT have an
0:02:25 > 0:02:27interesting line in their story, that we will never actually know the
0:02:27 > 0:02:31final cost of the Brexit bill because it will be paid out in
0:02:31 > 0:02:38increments and not in one big lump sum, so we will only know when the
0:02:38 > 0:02:44last citizen entitled to an EU pension has died.That is a long
0:02:44 > 0:02:49wait, Lance! An argument in Parliament today about not
0:02:49 > 0:02:52disclosing all the information, and presumably this would even exist if
0:02:52 > 0:02:57it is that far down the line?Yes, that has been part of the problem
0:02:57 > 0:03:00all the way along. Britain has signed up during our membership of
0:03:00 > 0:03:03the EU to all sorts of things that are variables. We don't know exactly
0:03:03 > 0:03:08what the bill will be, but what is interesting, as Laura says, and the
0:03:08 > 0:03:13papers have a slightly different take, the relatively loyal Daily
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Telegraph talks about Britain and the EU agreeing whereas the
0:03:16 > 0:03:28Financial Times basically a Remainer paper, says Britain has bowed to EU
0:03:28 > 0:03:31demands and it is pretty clear that Britain had made all the
0:03:31 > 0:03:35concessions, have agreed to pretty much everything the EU was asking
0:03:35 > 0:03:38for, but they are now talking about how they can present that to look
0:03:38 > 0:03:42like less of a headline figure than it would otherwise be, keeping in
0:03:42 > 0:03:45mind it could come back the other way.And in a previous life he
0:03:45 > 0:03:49worked in Downing Street and you understand the importance of kind of
0:03:49 > 0:04:00managing stories, particularly controversial ones.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07What do you make of the suggestion, the EU will talk up the figure and
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Britain will talk it down? Will that be convincing?Actually I don't
0:04:10 > 0:04:12think that is what will happen because I think the EU will make it
0:04:12 > 0:04:15easier for Britain on this point, so if Britain wants to talk it down and
0:04:15 > 0:04:18say the total figure will not actually be that much, there is
0:04:18 > 0:04:21money coming back, and so on and so forth, the pound is weaker, and
0:04:21 > 0:04:23other things to enable them to reduce the headline figure, the EU
0:04:23 > 0:04:26and a couple of EU officials have said that in the Financial Times,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28that's fine, let them say it is less, and basically they have agreed
0:04:28 > 0:04:31to everything they asked.Because this is just one of the sticking
0:04:31 > 0:04:35point and there are another two big hurdles we need to cross. And Irish
0:04:35 > 0:04:39border. That's right. The court of justice in guaranteeing EU citizens'
0:04:39 > 0:04:42right after Brexit, and I think the main issue at the moment is Ireland
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and demands for there not to be a return to the hard border and there
0:04:46 > 0:04:50is chaos going on in Northern Ireland's parliament, chaos going on
0:04:50 > 0:04:54in Ireland today.No Northern Ireland parliament at all at the
0:04:54 > 0:04:59moment.A massive sticking point, and we have the DUP making points,
0:04:59 > 0:05:04the prop up the government, because Theresa May failed to secure a
0:05:04 > 0:05:07majority, so suddenly they are very influential and what is it really
0:05:07 > 0:05:10matters.It was always much easier to settle on the money side because
0:05:10 > 0:05:15you could make concessions, whereas on the border between Northern
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Ireland and the republic, it is much harder because basically Britain is
0:05:18 > 0:05:22asking for two irreconcilable things. The whole of the UK comes
0:05:22 > 0:05:25out of the customs union and the Single Market and there is no hard
0:05:25 > 0:05:29border with the rest of the EU.You have to get the Government of
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Ireland to consent to this, effectively for the talks to move
0:05:33 > 0:05:39on.Every single EU member state has a veto.It is interesting because
0:05:39 > 0:05:43many papers have done this, looking briefly at the i's front page. The
0:05:43 > 0:05:49deal is close, sort of hedging their bets, really.It is closer.Still
0:05:49 > 0:05:52not a done deal and we are told that perhaps will not be until next week.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Next week. There are suggestions people are sitting round the table
0:05:56 > 0:06:01trying to put together some sort of truth document, shared ideals where
0:06:01 > 0:06:05they can come out and say, look, here it is in black and white, we
0:06:05 > 0:06:10have all agreed, happy families, let's move on. Lanceanother story
0:06:10 > 0:06:14on the front of the Financial Times which is in many ways as
0:06:14 > 0:06:18interesting, about the ability of our banks to cope with Brexit.Yes,
0:06:18 > 0:06:23and it is the Bank of England who are now stress test the banks. After
0:06:23 > 0:06:25the financial crisis the banks now have to prove to the Bank of England
0:06:25 > 0:06:29they can withstand pressures that may come, and what is interesting is
0:06:29 > 0:06:33the way in which they have gone about this process, because they
0:06:33 > 0:06:37have made various assumptions about what could happen if the Brexit
0:06:37 > 0:06:41associations go badly and there is a hard Brexit, and it includes things
0:06:41 > 0:06:47like a fall in house prices, unemployment at 9%, a drop in gross
0:06:47 > 0:06:54domestic product, and 4.7%. Calamitous figures which the Bank of
0:06:54 > 0:06:58England are building into their assumptions, their are worst-case
0:06:58 > 0:07:02assumptions basically on what could happen if it all goes badly wrong.I
0:07:02 > 0:07:07can hear cry from the Eurosceptics. They just can't get over it!Well,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11they said it was likely there would be this kind of Brexit, and they
0:07:11 > 0:07:14think the banks will be able to cope and I think it is at liberty
0:07:14 > 0:07:17response would ask them to put some money aside.We all need to put some
0:07:17 > 0:07:22money aside, don't we? You never know what is right the corner -- I
0:07:22 > 0:07:25think it is actually responsible for them to ask for money to be put
0:07:25 > 0:07:30aside. This one, trying to make the university sector more competitive,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33to seek you need to go out and attract more foreign students, need
0:07:33 > 0:07:37to be a bit more entrepreneurial. Part of the deal of that vice
0:07:37 > 0:07:42chancellors became rather like chief executives. And now the woman who
0:07:42 > 0:07:46has become the target of this row about how much the error has
0:07:46 > 0:07:50announced she is off.Yes, she has suffered from a change of the
0:07:50 > 0:07:56weather on all of this -- about how much the errant has announced she
0:07:56 > 0:08:06is. -- how much they earn. Wages did seem to be extraordinary. When this
0:08:06 > 0:08:11is Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell who was earning £468,000 a year. --
0:08:11 > 0:08:16and this is. Again, there is spin on the figures, so the university are
0:08:16 > 0:08:19trying to suggest she has not had a payoff but actually add up the fact
0:08:19 > 0:08:22that you will not go until August, she has another six month after
0:08:22 > 0:08:28that...On full day.Full PEI, saw her critics, of which there are
0:08:28 > 0:08:33many, say she is getting up old the buyer of about £600,000 which is not
0:08:33 > 0:08:38too bad.Is this an fair?I think it could be seen is that when you think
0:08:38 > 0:08:44of the debt students are taking on themselves -- is this unfair?I
0:08:44 > 0:08:49mean, I wonder if the coverage is on fear, she is one particular woman.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Yes, but people in the public sector have their wages frozen -- I mean I
0:08:53 > 0:08:59wonder if the coverage is unfair. Someone must awarded to her at the
0:08:59 > 0:09:03University.Exactly, and she has not rejected it, but accepted it, which
0:09:03 > 0:09:11you could argue was normal, Oliveira, but the former Education
0:09:11 > 0:09:19Secretary has been very bulk of -- very vocal on this.Lance, you will
0:09:19 > 0:09:22know this, the questioning of whether the whole tuition fees model
0:09:22 > 0:09:26something to be looked at. It is interesting that all the three main
0:09:26 > 0:09:29parties seem to have gone one way or another over this, and a relatively
0:09:29 > 0:09:33short at the time.The whole issue of how we fund our universities is
0:09:33 > 0:09:39very much open for discussion now. And I think all parties would agree
0:09:39 > 0:09:43on this as well. We do want first-class universities, and you
0:09:43 > 0:09:49have to find out how to pay that and how to find the best.This was
0:09:49 > 0:09:55unsurprising yesterday. The Daily Express, Harry and Meghan 's wedding
0:09:55 > 0:09:58announcement yesterday, a picture of St George's Chapel on the front
0:09:58 > 0:10:03page, and that story about diabetes. Now this is quite interesting, isn't
0:10:03 > 0:10:06it, Laura? Two different alternatives. I was being a bit
0:10:06 > 0:10:08flippant mentioning David Davis as a possible matchmaker for the royal
0:10:08 > 0:10:14couple. It can't be both of these. We have the front page first of all
0:10:14 > 0:10:24of the Telegraph which shows Meghan Markle hugging a friend of hers, so
0:10:24 > 0:10:27she is one matchmaker.Yes, and the Telegraph sport ended she did not
0:10:27 > 0:10:33deny she was indeed the matchmaker, so we do have an actual
0:10:33 > 0:10:37non-redaction from her -- Telegraph spoke to her and she did not deny.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41In the world of journalism, it means, well, the obviously did it,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44didn't they? So journalss often work with slightly different
0:10:44 > 0:10:47interpretations of the English language than the rest of the world!
0:10:47 > 0:10:53-- journalists often work with.And this other woman, we were discussing
0:10:53 > 0:11:00how to pronounce her surname...Is Misha wants to contact first night
0:11:00 > 0:11:03we are happy to be given advice on pronunciation. The bad news for both
0:11:03 > 0:11:10of them of course is that whatever happens now, Meghan Markle can't
0:11:10 > 0:11:18wear either of their outfits on the wedding day.You are right!And,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22yes, it doesn't matter, does it? In the greater scheme of things, but it
0:11:22 > 0:11:25is good both of the papers have gone for completely different people. Has
0:11:25 > 0:11:34someone been winding them up?I wrote for Violet because I don't see
0:11:34 > 0:11:39any sourcing for this front page. But it is a lovely picture.Yes, and
0:11:39 > 0:11:43a lovely story.How much of the energy and effort do you think of
0:11:43 > 0:11:45journalists over the coming six months will be spent on Meghan
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Markle and Prince Harry? Do you think she quite knows what she has
0:11:50 > 0:11:56letters of M4?I think she does, yes. She is obviously as very canny
0:11:56 > 0:12:00woman and he will have told her, you do realise what this will mean? And
0:12:00 > 0:12:05I am sure she will have spoken to Kate, and she... I think she's going
0:12:05 > 0:12:10in with her eyes wide open --do you think she knows what she has let
0:12:10 > 0:12:14herself in for?And all the coverage are around when it was announced
0:12:14 > 0:12:17they were going out on the first place, people were digging then, and
0:12:17 > 0:12:22it is unlikely to much...There are rarely signs she will do this on her
0:12:22 > 0:12:26own terms.Which is quite important. I think the public would respect
0:12:26 > 0:12:32that.Absolutely.I think we have to end on story that has made the front
0:12:32 > 0:12:35of the Telegraph, not on the other front pages yet but I have a
0:12:35 > 0:12:38suspicion it is going to be, and this is the decision made to promote
0:12:38 > 0:12:47one great British product, nothing to do with Brexit!Nothing to do
0:12:47 > 0:12:49with any other story.Completely unconnected with this newspaper
0:12:49 > 0:12:57review.We are told Viagra is to be sold in chemists, so you don't have
0:12:57 > 0:13:00to get a prescription from your doctor, but of course you do still
0:13:00 > 0:13:03have to go into a chemist and have that slightly embarrassing
0:13:03 > 0:13:08discussion with the pharmacist, so much difference this will likely
0:13:08 > 0:13:11make...Intriguing to see whether it will eliminate the problem of people
0:13:11 > 0:13:14buying things that are not really what they claim to be online because
0:13:14 > 0:13:20they are a bit too embarrassed to admit they it.Especially when it is
0:13:20 > 0:13:23available for men over the age of 18, so we were wondering whether or
0:13:23 > 0:13:29not perhaps the odd stag do might be livened up by something that was
0:13:29 > 0:13:32obtained from the pharmacist. Indeed.I think we will leave it
0:13:32 > 0:13:40there are! Laura Hughes, and Lance Price. Thank you all very much for
0:13:40 > 0:13:44joining us on the Papers tonight.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Don't forget you can see the front pages of the papers online
0:13:46 > 0:13:48on the BBC News website.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51It's all there for you - seven days a week at bbc.co.uk/papers -
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and if you miss the programme any evening, you can watch it