Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, EU elections, FirstGroup, Netflix, Royal Mail, BP

Tory heavyweights today demand an end to the “virus of extremism” that has divided the country and left the Conservative Party trailing in fourth place in two opinion polls for the European elections. The former prime minister Sir John Major and former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine issued last-ditch pleas for a return to the centre ground on the eve of Thursday’s elections, in which support for the two main parties has fallen to historic lows. - The Sunday Times

An activist hedge fund is poised to step up its attack on FirstGroup, issuing a set of radical demands that ­include slicing the company in two and ordering the transport giant to quit Britain’s railways. Coast Capital Management, the company’s biggest shareholder, will ratchet up pressure this week with the publication of a five-point turnaround plan in a bid to wrest control of the boardroom and FirstGroup’s strategy. - Sunday Telegraph

Netflix is close to securing a deal to lease space at Pinewood Studios, home to the James Bond and Star Wars franchises, to ensure its growing slate of UK productions can be made without delay. Netflix, which is understood to be near to signing a 10-year deal with Pinewood, began the hunt for a permanent production base last year, as revealed by the Guardian. - Observer

Jeremy Corbyn donned an orange patka while hitting the Euro campaign trail on a visit to a Sikh temple after saying a second Brexit referendum would not be 'disastrous'. In an interview on the Andrew Marr Show, the Labour party leader said that freedom of movement would be part of any negotiations with the EU led by his party. - Mail on Sunday

Free movement of people between Britain and the EU could continue after Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn has said. In a relaxation of the party’s position that freedom of movement would end, the Labour leader said he was not “staunchly” against it. - The Sunday Times

Royal Mail is expected to deliver a dramatic slump in annual profits this week, capping off a torrid year in which its stock market value was more than cut in half. Analysts expect the former state postal monopoly to report underlying pre-tax profits of £342m on Wednesday, down 40pc on last year, as it continues to battle a plunge in letter volumes and higher costs in its European parcels arm GLS. - Sunday Telegraph

BP stepped up its campaign to be allowed to drill for oil in the Arctic sea and an Alaskan wildlife refuge after Donald Trump was elected president, according to documents that detail the British firm’s lobbying efforts. Documents written by BP and oil industry groups show how the oil “supermajor” seized on the opportunity presented by Trump’s 2016 election victory to expand its offshore business, just seven years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. - Observer

Michael Heseltine has vowed to vote for the Liberal Democrats in the Euro elections because the Conservative party has been 'infected by the virus of extremism'. His comments come as a new poll shows Boris Johnson is on his way to be the next prime minister, and the Brexit Party are set to win the elections next week. - Mail on Sunday

The extent of the decay in Sir Philip Green’s retail empire has been laid bare in documents posted as part of his plan to cut rents and close stores. Proposals sent to landlords last week before an imminent company voluntary arrangement (CVA) show Green is considering selling or closing Arcadia Group’s international businesses, most of which are loss-making. Arcadia’s total sales slumped by 10.5% to £1.7bn in the year to last August. - The Sunday Times

Theresa May’s successor must not call an early general election because it risks handing Jeremy Corbyn the keys to Number 10 and “killing Brexit altogether”, Matt Hancock has warned. With the Brexit Party riding high in the polls ahead of Thursday’s European Parliament elections and Labour projected to win the most seats if a general election was called tomorrow, the Health Secretary urged MPs to “deliver Brexit and move forward”. - Sunday Telegraph

Egyptian officials say a roadside bomb has hit a tourist bus near the Giza pyramids. They say the blast on Sunday wounded at least 16 people, including tourists. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. - Observer

The Government's flagship business policy to put workers on company boards has been left in tatters after big firms made a mockery of the idea. A Mail on Sunday survey of the 100 biggest listed companies found none had appointed a worker to its board of directors since the reforms came into force on January 1. Instead, more than a third of companies have taken advantage of watered-down rules to appoint existing directors as 'representatives' of their firm's workers. - Mail on Sunday

British Steel’s private equity owner faces questions over its decision to pump £42m into a French steelworks as it begged Westminster for cash to save its Scunthorpe plant. The secretive buyout fund Greybull Capital bought the Ascoval mill in northern France out of insolvency, saying it would invest €47.5m (£41.7m). The French state is injecting a further €47m. - The Sunday Times

Australia this weekend rejected the most Left-wing Labor Party in a generation, led by the low-energy Bill Shorten, and re-elected the Liberal-National coalition, led by the good friend of Britain, Scott Morrison. This is a shock to the pollster and pundit class – every poll for years, even the exit polls on election night, pointed to a Labor victory. The Australian people had a different idea. The Shy Liberal Voter came out in droves. - Sunday Telegraph

A woman who was a guest on a chat show hosted by Jeremy Kyle in 2005 took her life six days after her appearance, it has emerged. Erica Pawson, 36, killed herself after her husband followed Kyle’s advice and ended their 18-year marriage. The news comes after Kyle’s ITV show was axed in response to the death of a participant days after he took part in a recording this month. - Observer

Marks & Spencer executive Steve Rowe will this week attempt to draw a line under a decade of deteriorating performance at the retailer with the promise of 'accelerating change'. He is expected to use Wednesday's full-year results meeting to demonstrate that the chain has a credible blueprint to battle larger rivals such as Sainsbury's and Tesco on food. - Mail on Sunday