Newspaper headlines: ‘Final throw of the dice’ for Brexit trade deal

image captionThe Observer’s top story says the government is working on contingency plans to fly tens of millions of doses of the coronavirus vaccine from Belgium to the UK via military aircraft to avoid Brexit-related delays at ports. The paper quotes the Department of Health and Social Care and senior sources at the Ministry of Defence who, it says, have confirmed that large consignments of the vaccine would be brought to the UK from 1 January by air – if road, rail and sea routes were hit by “widely expected delays” after that date. The news comes as Brexit talks are set to resume in Brussels on Sunday, with the paper reporting hopes that a trade deal “will be struck in the next few days”.

image captionThe Queen is set to receive the coronavirus vaccine “within weeks” and will publicly reveal she has had it to boost take-up of the jab, according to the Mail on Sunday’s splash. The paper cites senior sources who insist the 94-year-old monarch and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, 99, will not get “preferential treatment” and will “wait in line” during the first wave of injections set aside for the over-80s and care home residents. Public health experts are said to believe that if the royal couple reveal they have had the jab, it could help to combat misinformation, which it is feared, could lead to a “substantial proportion” of the population refusing a vaccine.

image captionThe Daily Telegraph’s splash reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give a Brexit trade deal a “final throw of the dice” after his hour-long phone call with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday failed to break the deadlocked negotiations. Mr Johnson has told his Brexit negotiator Lord Frost to head to Brussels for 48 hours of “intensive” talks with Michel Barner, the EU’s chief negotiator, which the paper calls a “last-ditch bid” to secure a trade deal by 31 December.

image captionThe Sunday Express also leads on the “final throw of the dice” warning, as it reports that Britain and the EU have until Sunday night to reach a trade deal, or accept there will be no deal. The paper says the time frame was set by Mr Johnson during a “dramatic” phone call with Mrs von der Leyen.

image captionA senior No 10 source has told the Sunday Times that the chances of a Brexit trade deal between the UK and the EU were now “‘no better than 50-50’ after more than four years and five months of talks”. The paper says that if no further progress is made, the prime minister’s team is talking about plans for him to announce no-deal in a televised address to the nation, in which he will place the blame on the EU and “French intransigence”.

image captionThe Sunday People says plans to vaccinate elderly care home residents against coronavirus have been thrown into “chaos” after they were told they would have to travel by bus to hospital hubs for the jabs. The paper quotes “angry” care bosses who say “there is no way” care home residents will be able to do this.

image captionMichael Palin, Bob Geldof, and Michael Parkinson have led what the Sunday Mirror calls “an extraordinary rallying call” in support of the coronavirus vaccine, following a “wave of negativity” from anti-vaxxers who oppose the jab. They join other famous faces including campaigner Esther Rantzen and comedian Paul O’Grady, who have said they will accept the vaccine.

image captionThe Daily Star on Sunday leads on comments by Vernon Kay that he broke down in tears during filming of this year’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, because he missed his wife – television personality Tess Daly – and their daughters. The TV presenter came third in Friday night’s final of the ITV series, which was filmed in a Welsh castle instead of the Australian jungle due to coronavirus.