Papers have their say on May’s Salzburg Brexit ‘humiliation’

After Theresa May was left “humiliated” by EU leaders’ rejection of her Brexit blueprint, here the papers give their say on what should happen next.

The Daily Mail says if the EU leaders have deliberately tried to destabilise the PM, they have “underestimated both Mrs May and the British people, who will not be cowed into submission”.

The paper says Chequers is “pragmatic” and warned Mrs May not to “blink first”. It adds: “She must hold her nerve. In all likelihood, this was simply brinkmanship, and when it comes to the crunch, a deal will be done.”

The Times says there are still “reasons to believe that reasonable arguments on both sides of the Channel will prevail before time runs out”.

The paper also says it is up to the Conservative party to support her. “It does not have long to see the light,” it adds.

The Daily Mirror says the Prime Minister has “misread almost every step of the negotiation process”. “The shambles in Salzburg leaves us without a coherent or plausible Brexit plan,” the paper says.

It adds: “We need a Brexit deal that respects the referendum result, but also protects jobs, workers’ rights and business. If Mrs May cannot deliver such an outcome, she should stand aside for someone who can.”

The Daily Telegraph says the EU leaders made a “mistake” if their actions were intended to alter British opinion on Brexit.

“The UK does not respond to insult,” the paper says. “We want to be good neighbours: this tit-for-tat is alien to the British nature. Mrs May has to articulate all of this and make it 100 per cent clear we won’t be bullied into serfdom.”

The Sun decries the EU leaders as “mobsters” on its front page. “Like all good gangsters, they’re trying to rule by fear,” the paper says.

“Brussels has made us an offer it thinks we can’t refuse. Today we join the Prime Minister in saying no.”

The Guardian says Mrs May “overplayed her hand” and “forced” the EU leaders to reject her plans.

“Mrs May and the EU both have good reason to ensure that Brexit does not descend into anarchy, but time is running out,” the paper says.

The Daily Express says the failure to reach an agreement, two years after Britain voted for Brexit, is “entirely the fault of the EU”.

“If the EU wants a proper trade deal with us, it is time they wised up to these facts and it is also time that they realised we are serious about walking away with no deal. And if we must do so, we will.”