Sunday newspaper round-up: No-deal Brexit, Huawei, Travis Perkins, Wickes, Heathrow, drug laws

The chairman of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party was last night embroiled in the “Trump files” leak scandal as it emerged that he is in a relationship with the writer whose story brought down Britain’s ambassador to Washington. Richard Tice, a Brexit Party MEP, is dating Isabel Oakeshott, who last week published leaked diplomatic cables in which Sir Kim Darroch branded Donald Trump “clumsy and inept”, forcing Darroch’s resignation when the president announced he would not work with him. - The Sunday Times

Theresa May and her most senior officials were dragged into a row over press freedom last night after it emerged that the Cabinet Office called in the police officer who threatened to prosecute anyone who published leaked diplomatic cables. Senior lawyers said that Neil Basu, the head of the Metropolitan Police's specialist operations appeared to have set out to "protect the Government from embarrassment" after he issued a warning that the publication of the leaked memos could in itself be "a criminal matter." - Sunday Telegraph

The campaigner and businesswoman Gina Miller will launch immediate legal action to prevent Boris Johnson from shutting down parliament in order to drive through a no-deal Brexit against the wishes of MPs, the Observer reported. Miller’s lawyers, Mishcon de Reya, have written to the likely next prime minister, saying that such a move would be not only “constitutionally unacceptable” but also unlawful, and would lead them to mount an urgent challenge in the courts. - Observer

Amber Rudd today made a desperate bid to keep her Cabinet job under Boris Johnson - saying she will not 'lie down in front of bulldozers' to stop No Deal. The Work and Pensions Secretary admitted she had shifted position on leaving the EU without an agreement, saying 'circumstances have changed', She said she no longer thought a second referendum was preferable to No Deal, hinting that she was motivated by the prospect of continuing 'good work' in her government department. - Mail on Sunday

A Labour government would pursue water giants that move shareholdings offshore in an attempt to escape nationalisation, John McDonnell has revealed. The shadow chancellor said his Treasury team would “find a mechanism” to claim ownership of stakes held by investors seeking protection from nationalisation by using overseas treaties. - The Sunday Times

Donald Trump’s negotiators have signalled that the next prime minister’s hopes of a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States rest on his willingness to fall in line with tough American policies against the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Whitehall correspondence seen by The Sunday Telegraph reveals that British officials close to transatlantic trade talks believe allowing Huawei to ­provide equipment for new 5G mobile networks could be a deal-breaker. - Sunday Telegraph

Britain is facing the highest risk of a recession since the financial crisis and needs urgent plans to combat the next downturn, according to an alarming assessment of the nation’s economic health. Preparations need to be made to reduce the impact, the study by the Resolution Foundation think tank warns. It states that both uncertainty around Brexit and the global economic slowdown have led to the highest recession risk since 2007. - Observer

Britain will be at the mercy of Emmanuel Macron if there is No Deal Brexit, Philip Hammond warned today. The Chancellor dismissed Boris Johnson's claims the UK can control the fallout from failure to reach an agreement with the EU - saying the bloc holds 'many of the levers' needed to minimise damage. He said France could 'dial up' delays at Calais to cause chaos at ports like Dover. - Mail on Sunday

Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins is accelerating plans to sell its Wickes division after replacing the chief executive of the struggling DIY chain. Travis Perkins is said to be separating Wickes’s IT systems from those used by the rest of the group to prepare the 240-store DIY chain for a demerger in the middle of next year. - The Sunday Times

Chris Grayling, the Transport ­Secretary, faces fresh criticism over his use of public money after handing ­millions of pounds to Heathrow airport as part of preparations for High Speed 2, ­despite the future of the ­controversial rail line remaining in the balance. The Government has committed to pay the airport £9m in the expectation that it will need to flatten a rail depot at Old Oak Common currently housing Heathrow Express trains. - Sunday Telegraph

Activists and officials in northern Russia have warned of a “gold rush” for mammoth ivory as prospectors dig up tusks and other woolly mammoth remains that can net a small fortune on the rapacious Chinese market. Melting permafrost from global heating has made it easier for locals to retrieve the remains of woolly mammoths, which have been extinct for thousands of years, and sell them on to China, where the ivory is fashioned into jewellery, trinkets, knives, and other decorations. - Observer

Fears are mounting that Britain is hurtling towards its first recession since the financial crisis, after alarming new jobs figures indicated the sharpest slowdown in nearly a decade. The Mail on Sunday reported that job vacancies advertised on Reed, Britain’s most popular recruitment website, tumbled by 16,467, or 2.3 per cent, in the second quarter – the largest quarterly fall since 2010. - Mail on Sunday

The tide of public opinion is shifting towards liberalisation of Britain’s drug laws, according to a poll that shows that voters favour the legalisation of cannabis by a margin of two to one. The YouGov survey found that 48% of adults favour legalisation of recreational marijuana use, up five points in the past year, with just 24% opposed. The figure rises to 52% nationwide for those aged 18 to 49. Support for legalisation in London is even higher, at 56%. - The Sunday Times

Germany has called for a “coalition of the willing” to take in migrants rescued while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister, called for a core group of European Union countries to agree a scheme without waiting for approval from the rest of the bloc. - Sunday Telegraph

The Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry has said her Jewish member of staff feels she cannot discuss where she works when she attends family functions, calling on the party to stop the “soap opera” and deal with the antisemitism issue. The shadow foreign secretary said the party should show it is willing for the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) investigation to be given free rein to reform its processes for dealing with antisemitism complaints. - Observer

Ram raiders attacking cash machines is a growing crime for vulnerable communities – and speeding up the race towards a cashless society. Last year at least 1,100 ATMs across Britain were targeted by thieves in a crimewave that has more than doubled in the past four years. Banks are doing little to thwart the criminals as they believe cash is a security risk they would rather do without. Axe cash machines and the ram raiders disappear. - Mail on Sunday