Brexit deal: How the British press reported the breakthrough

As news of the UK-EU Brexit talks deal begins to settle, here is a look at how the British media reported Friday morning’s news from Brussels.

BBC

Laura Kuenssberg from the BBC writes that Theresa May has achieved what she wanted in striking a last minute deal with the EU to move Brexit talks on to the next phase. The British prime minister now has "the green light to move on", writes Kuenssberg, adding that had she not, she would be "in deep, deep political trouble".

"The 15 pages, described as a 'personal success' for Theresa May by Donald Tusk give her what she needed for now. There are additional guarantees for Northern Ireland and the border, but an undefined statement on 'full alignment', if there is no big trade deal. The implications of what 'full alignment' will mean will still be fought over by the two wings of the Conservative Party."

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The UK has agreed a future role for the European Court of Justice, which Brexiteers may object to, even though Number 10 says the measure is temporary and many only affect a handful of cases a year, she says.

“This is a political agreement, not a practical one that answers every single question. But for Downing Street today, the important thing is that it is done. A big first step that goes some way to securing Theresa May’s position.”

Financial Times

The FT runs through the key points of the Brexit deal, opening with the financial implications and how the deal commits the UK to pay into the EU budget for the years 2019 and 2020 "as if it had remained" in the EU.

“It will also ‘contribute its share of the financing’ for any EU liabilities incurred before the end of 2020 and that fall due over the decades to come,” writes the FT. “The deal does not contain numbers and net estimates for the settlement vary between €40bn and €60bn. The deal also covers other financial issues, such as the gradual reimbursement, in 12 annual instalments of the UK’s paid-in capital at the European Investment Bank.”

The Financial Times also covers how citizens' rights will be affected by the deal which promises that EU citizens living in the UK will be able to claim permanent residency status through "transparent, smooth and streamlined" procedures.

The Guardian

The Guardian writes that UK environment secretary Michael Gove led senior Brexit supporters in congratulating Ms May for securing a deal with the UK on Friday.

Mr Gove, who led the Vote Leave campaign, said the British prime minister had “won” and hailed it as a “significant personal achievement”.

"The prime minister made several concessions, including a divorce bill of about £50bn and allowing British courts to refer cases about EU citizens to the European court of justice for another eight years," writes the Guardian's deputy political editor Rowena Mason. "But Gove insisted this was acceptable as it was "time-limited" and argued any Brexit supporter should be delighted that the UK would be free from the ECJ, the single market and customs union."

“He also defended the promise of full alignment with the EU to ensure no hard border in Northern Ireland if there were no deal, saying it was right for the UK to have the same goals on standards for issues such as the environment.

"The most senior leave supporter not to give an immediate reaction was Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, who told May on Thursday that a deal must work for the whole of the UK," writes Mason.

She also quotes shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, as saying it was good that trade talks could start but the public needed to know “the political price of compromise”. Mr Starmer said the priority for both sides should be to agree transitional arrangements and staying in the single market and a customs union for “a time-limited period”.

The Independent

The UK Independent reported that the pound rose against a host of currencies on Friday morning, following the news that the EU and UK had reached an agreement in the Brexit talks.

"In early trading, sterling was up around 0.3 per cent against the dollar and 0.4 per cent against the euro. It also rose against Japan's yen, the Swiss franc, the Australian and Canadian dollars and a selection of other world currencies," writes the Independent, adding that the UK business community had immediately welcomed the progress.

It quoted Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, as saying: “After the noise and political brinksmanship of recent days, news of a breakthrough in the negotiations will be warmly welcomed by companies across the UK.”

Stephen Martin, director general of the Institute of Directors said: “The most pressing concern for UK companies has been their EU staff, who have urgently needed certainty about their future in this country. We have grounds to hope now that our members will be able to send their employees off for the Christmas break feeling more comfortable about their status here.”

The Daily Mail

The Daily Mail leads with the headline: "May finally seals EU deal including huge divorce bill and concession on powers for European judges after frantic all-night negotiations to soothe DUP fears on Irish border."

The Mail says Ms May "defended making a slew of concessions to the EU" as she struck a deal on Friday.

“After a frantic night of negotiations, a bleary eyed PM and Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed the ‘breakthrough’ had been achieved at an early morning press conference,” it says.

“Despite fury at the prospect of an estimated £50billion divorce payment, Ms May insisted it was ‘fair to the British taxpayer’ and would allow the government to pump more into key services like the NHS.”

The Mail added that Downing Street was braced for "a backlash over the huge divorce bill and pledges to accept the power of European Courts for years to come" and quoted former Ukip leader as saying: "A deal in Brussels is good news for Ms May as we can now move on to the next stage of humiliation."

Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, who voted remain, said the deal amounted to “game, set and match for the EU on money and EU citizens”.