What the papers say – December 11

Boris Johnson saying there is a “strong possibility” the UK will fail to broker a trade agreement with the EU is splashed across most of the front pages.

The quote is carried on the front of the Financial Times, which calls it a “bleak warning, and the i says Britain can expect tariffs and higher prices in 20 days.

The Daily Telegraph, The Times and the Daily Mail report the Prime Minister has told his Cabinet to prepare for “no deal”.

The Guardian says senior Tories have urged the PM to “find an agreement” with the bloc, with the Daily Mirror warning that failing to do so “could cost thousands of jobs and cause months of chaos at the border”.

“Let’s play Aussie rules” says the headline of Metro‘s front page, referring to Australia which does not have a free trade agreement with the Brussels bloc so the bulk of its trade is carried out on World Trade Organisation terms.

The Daily Express reports Brussels has “never truly understood… All we ever wanted was our freedom”.

The Daily Star takes a cheeky tone as it says the PM has “finally made a decision – to ban the World Pie Eating Championship”.

A later edition of The Sun carries news of the death of “legend” Dame Barbara Windsor.

And The Independent says a “damning inquiry”has called for maternity care across the NHS to be “urgently overhauled to prevent widespread malpractice that puts mothers and babies at risk”.