Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Sports Direct, Debenhams, Honda, Arcadia Group, Inmarsat

Theresa May will be warned today that her government faces total collapse unless she passes her Brexit deal - as the prime minister’s aides were at loggerheads over whether to accept a soft Brexit or call a general election this week. In an emergency conference call last night Brexiteer cabinet ministers agreed they would resign if May accepted a customs union or got Tory MPs to vote for the UK to take part in European elections in May. - The Sunday Times

The Conservatives are engaged in “sensible and pragmatic planning” for a snap election, the party’s deputy chairman has admitted, as Labour mulls a second confidence motion in the Government. James Cleverly said that while the Tories were “not planning for a general election”, the party was nevertheless preparing for a snap poll in case Theresa May was forced to go to the country early. - Sunday Telegraph

The petition asking the British government to revoke article 50 and reconsider its plan to exit the European Union passed 6m signatures a day and a half after Britain was meant to have left the European Union. The number of signatories passed the 5m mark the previous Sunday, making it the most popular petition to have been submitted to the parliament website. - Observer

The Justice Secretary today said that Britain is in a 'national crisis' and told the Prime Minister she must consider a customs union if MPs vote for it tomorrow. David Gauke told Andrew Marr that if MPs vote 'in favour of a softer Brexit, then I don’t think it’s sustainable to ignore parliament’s position.' - Mail on Sunday

Conservative MPs must accept that the party does not have the votes for its favoured Brexit, a cabinet minister said today. The Commons will tomorrow vote again on alternative brexit plans to the one put forward by Theresa May, under a system known as indicative votes, as they try to break the impasse. - The Sunday Times

Mike Ashley has blown more than half a billion pounds on a botched high street shopping spree, raising fresh questions about the tycoon’s stewardship of Sports Direct. Ashley is on the brink of seeing a 29% stake in Debenhams wiped out as the troubled department store chain nears a rescue deal with lenders that will obliterate existing shareholders. - Sunday Telegraph

Hundreds of workers have marched through Swindon in an attempt to save their jobs by convincing Honda to reverse its decision to close a car manufacturing plant in the town. The protesters, many of whom were joined by their families, were demonstrating against Honda’s plan to close the car plant in 2021, which will cost 3,500 workers their jobs. - Observer

Jeremy Corbyn would be poised on the threshold of Downing Street if Theresa May called a General Election, an exclusive Mail on Sunday poll has found. After weeks of conflict in the Conservative Party, public support for Labour stands at 41 per cent, five points clear of the Tories on 36. If repeated at an Election, Labour would be on course to win 307 seats, while the Conservatives would claim just 264. - Mail on Sunday

Sir Philip Green could offer landlords shares in Arcadia Group in the hope of winning their support for a restructuring of his struggling Topshop empire. Advisers to the billionaire are considering “sweetening” the impending company voluntary arrangement (CVA) by giving landlords an interest of up to 20% in Arcadia, allowing them to share a windfall if the company were to be sold following the insolvency process. - The Sunday Times

Security and technology watch dogs are gearing up for months of transatlantic scrutiny of the planned takeover of Inmarsat by buyout giants Apax and Warburg Pincus, amid heightened sensitivities over critical communications. Inmarsat’s major customers include the US Navy and British special forces, bringing close analysis of ­prospective new owners. - Sunday Telegraph

The security chief for Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos says the Saudi government had access to Bezos’s phone and gained private information from it. Gavin de Becker, a longtime security consultant, said he had concluded his investigation into the publication in January of leaked text messages between Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, a former television anchor who the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper said Bezos was dating. - Observer

Barclays boss Jes Staley was dealt a fresh blow last night when it emerged that the New York fund part run by the investor made famous in The Big Short is betting on a fall in the bank's share price. Steve Eisman was played by Steve Carell in the Oscar-winning Hollywood film which also starred Brad Pitt and Christian Bale. He now works for Neuberger Berman, but made his name as a hedge fund boss who cashed in by foreseeing the US housing market collapse that triggered the 2008 crash. - Mail on Sunday

The debt-laden owner of Manchester’s Trafford Centre is pinning its hopes for a turnaround on a former chief operating officer of the builders’ merchant Travis Perkins. Tony Buffin is understood to be Intu Properties’ preferred candidate to succeed David Fischel as chief executive. With little experience of buying or managing shopping centres, Buffin is a left-field choice to spearhead a revival of the troubled owner of sites that include Lakeside in Essex. - The Sunday Times

An urgent hunt is underway for a knife-man who has randomly stabbed four people in the space of a few hours in North London. The first incident took place just after 7pm in Aberdeen Road, Edmonton, when a 45-year-old woman was stabbed in the back by a man who approached her in the street. - Sunday Telegraph

Voters across Turkey have begun casting their ballots in local elections that are being viewed as a crucial test for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as the country’s economic woes bite into his popular support. At least 57 million people are eligible to vote on Sunday in contests in 30 cities and more than 900 other areas around the country. - Observer

Two of the richest families in Britain are locked in a billion pound legal battle over a controversial iron ore contract that has driven a rift between the two business partners. Lakshmi Mittal, who co-owns Queens Park Rangers and has a £67m mansion in Kensington, West London, is chasing £1bn in damages from a business linked to the billionaire Ruia family. - Mail on Sunday