Hugely controversial “reset” talks between the UK and the EU dominate today’s news with food and drink at the centre of it all.
With The Prime Minister and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, are due to announce the changes as part of the hugely anticipated deal today, The Guardian reports. Negotiations on a significant reset of the UK’s relationship with the EU have gone “down to the wire”, with fisheries and youth mobility among outstanding sticking points, with hours to go before the start of a crucial summit.
The Telegraph fumes that Keir Starmer will today unwind a central principle of Brexit by agreeing to follow EU trading rules in what has been branded a “betrayal” of Leave voters.
It says the “reset” deal will force the UK to follow European food standards and submit to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), in what Brexiteers and Labour rebels said amounted to “the worst of both worlds”.
But ministers say the move will lower prices for consumers and increase the number of British exports abroad, which could increase growth.
The Independent says the summit is expected to lead to intense discussions on major food policies including aligning standards on the sale of agricultural products that could eliminate costly checks on food products exported across the English Channel, five years after Brexit.
Temporarily relegated from the front pages, for once, Donald Trump is still managing to make headlines.
The Guardian reports Trump tariffs could lead to surge of cheap vapes in UK with China is set to flood Britain with its products as manufacturers seek to capitalise on the world’s second biggest market.
Meanwhile M&S, Ocado and Waitrose are the latest supermarkets to say they will not sell American beef, according to reports in The Daily Mail, in what it calls a major boost for British farmers.
The grocers told the Mail they will stick with British meat and have no plans to start stocking any beef imported from the US.
They join Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl and the Co-op in saying they will not compromise on their commitment to British farmers and animal welfare standards.
What is gearing up to be another massive week for news will also provide no respite for embattled M&S boss Stuart Machin, the M&S chief executive, who is due to reveal the company’s full-year results on Wednesday, as it continues to reel from the impact of the the cyber attacks that have crippled its operations.
The Telegraph says as one of the leaders of the retail industry M&S needs to lead the fightback against the hackers because faith in the entire retail system is being destroyed.
The BBC reports how hackers behind the cyber-attack on M&S, known as DragonForce, managed to gain entry through a third party who had access to its systems. Scattered Spider previously told the BBC it was behind the attack and was also responsible for hacking the Co-op and an attempted hack on Harrods.
It quotes analysts suggesting M&S has lost more than £40m of sales every week since the incident began over the Easter bank holiday weekend, which was also reported in The Grocer last week.
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