Tom Goodenough

Theresa May’s decision to row back on her pledge to put workers on company boards receives a mixed reception in the papers today. The Sun and the FT are among those to say it’s good that the PM has opted to change her mind. But the Guardian isn’t happy: calling the PM’s u-turn a ‘betrayal’. Here’s what the newspaper editorials are saying this morning: The Sun heaps praise on Theresa May for her change in thinking about making companies have representatives of workers on their boards - a move it describes as ‘hasty and aggressive’. It says the PM is right to back down from an idea that would have been a ‘godsend only to the unions’.

Labour’s confused stance on immigration riles the tabloids in today’s papers - with the party’s position described as ‘bone headed’ in the Daily Express. Meanwhile, prison reform is on the agenda elsewhere, as the Guardian says Liz Truss should release the thousands of prisoners still locked up despite serving more than their minimum sentences. But whatever is done to sort out the mess of Britain’s prisons, it’s no time to make them more comfortable for inmates, says the Daily Mail. Here are what the papers are saying this morning: The Sun hits out at Labour in its editorial this morning, saying the party’s policy on immigration shows what a mess the opposition are in.

In the run-up to the referendum, the Treasury warned that unemployment would rise by half-a-million. Today, this prophecy comes in for criticism in the papers following yesterday’s news that the number of Brits out of work had tumbled to an 11-year low. It’s not only Project Fear which gets a hard time in the editorials though. The moaning ‘anti-Brexit mob’ are also criticised - while the Guardian savages Boris Johnson for making a ‘fool of himself’. The Sun launches an attack on the moaning ‘anti-Brexit mob’ in its leader this morning, saying that it seems that the better the economic outlook since the referendum ‘the louder the caterwauling’ from those unhappy with the result.

Google’s decision to employ an extra 3,000 people in London is undoubtedly great news for Britain. But it's nonsense to try and tangle the company's plans as being all - or, indeed, anything - about Brexit. Of course, it was only a matter of time before Google’s announcement was glimpsed through the Brexit prism. Everything is these days. Some have said the new jobs promised by Google and the firm's £1bn investment is ‘despite’ the outcome of the referendum. In their coverage of the announcement, Bloomberg said tech firms had been left wondering ‘whether they’ll still be able to hire workers from overseas…after the country leaves the bloc’.

Theresa May used her first big speech on foreign policy last night to spell out the need for globalisation to change. She adopted a softer approach than she did in her conference speech, when she went on the warpath against the liberal elite, says James Forsyth. Yet she remained clear: this year's political upheaval shows something needs to give. It's hard to fault that thinking, but while many would agree with the Prime Minister, does May have the answers for what this change should look like? No, says the Guardian, which slates Theresa May for having no answers to the key questions left following Donald Trump’s election victory. The paper says the Prime Minister gave an ‘interesting’ speech at last night’s Lord Mayor’s Banquet.

Theresa May was tenth in line in the phone queue to speak to president-elect Donald Trump last week. Yet Nigel Farage managed an hour-long meeting with Trump over the weekend - and even found time to pose for pictures in Trump's gold-plated elevator. Downing Street has so far said it doesn’t want Farage’s help to build bridges with the new US leader. But how sustainable is that approach? The Daily Telegraph says now is not the time to be fussy about the way in which Britain forges links with Trump. The paper says that the government is ‘right to consider making use of Nigel Farage’, who it points out will offer a ‘direct line’ to the White House.

Hillary Clinton is, not for the first time, in the clear. The FBI announced last night its investigation into the latest cache of emails to emerge showed no wrongdoing on the part of the Democrat nominee. Clinton's spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said the they were glad the matter was resolved. But does the exoneration - if you can call it that - come too late for Hillary? Clinton’s poll lead is narrow: she's currently 1.8 points ahead of Trump, according to the Real Clear Politics poll of polls. And with millions of voters having already cast their ballots, is the damage already done? The New York Post’s front page is typically rambunctious: ‘Saved at the bell’, the newspaper shouts on its front page.

The High Court’s ruling that Parliament should have the final say on pulling the Article 50 trigger has not gone down well in today’s papers. ‘Enemies of the people’ screams the front page of the Daily Mail alongside a picture of the judges who made yesterday’s decision. If its headline didn’t make its view clear enough, there's little room for interpretation in its editorial: the court’s decision was ‘an outrageous betrayal of democracy’, the paper says. The Mail suggests the ruling isn’t a one-off but forms part of a pattern where the courts have consistently sided with the Europe ‘against the interests of the British people’. But, the paper says, this latest stunt is the most dangerous yet.

Sir John Chilcot isn’t a man who deals in pithy quotes. His Iraq War inquiry report came in at two-and-a-half million words, and even the executive summary was 150 pages long. Yet Chilcot's assessment of Tony Blair during his select committee appearance this afternoon was about as damning as he could manage. Asked whether the former PM had damaged trust in politics, Chilcot had this to say: ‘I think when a government or the leader of a government presents a case with all the powers of advocacy that he or she can command, and in doing so goes beyond what the facts of the case and the basic analysis of that can support, then it does damage politics, yes.

In a contest already offering plenty of thrills and spills, the race to become the next Ukip leader has kicked up some fresh drama this morning. Raheem Kassam, Nigel Farage's preferred successor, has announced his decision to end his leadership bid. The former press officer has blamed press intrusion. In a statement, he said: 'After much consideration, I have decided not to pursue my campaign to be UKIP leader any further. This was a very difficult decision, and I want to thank everyone who supported me in the process. It is a decision I have not taken lightly, but following meetings this weekend I realised the path to victory is too narrow. I would encourage my supporters to back Peter Whittle, who I think would make a fantastic leader of the party.

Theresa May hailed Nissan’s decision to stay put in Sunderland and build its new Qashqai and X-Trail models at its plant in the north-east as a ‘vote of confidence’ in the UK. But was this just the PM drumming up the deal or is it really such good news for Britain? The Times suggests the agreement may have come at a price. The newspaper says a ‘written promise’ was made to the company that it wouldn’t lose out from Brexit. Some have said it smacks of a sweetheart deal between the Government and the carmaker - something business secretary Greg Clarke, who insisted no cheque book was waved at the car giant, has denied.

Theresa May was widely praised in yesterday’s papers after the Government backed a third runway at Heathrow. And there are more plaudits for the Prime Minister in today’s editorials. The Sun says that yesterday’s figures showing the wages of the poorest rose faster than for any other section of society made it clear that it wasn’t true the Tories only care about the rich. It says the Government’s plan to reduced the balance of inequality contrasts strongly with the ‘fevered minds of Jeremy Corbyn and his deluded followers’, who try and paint Britain as ‘an unfair society plagued by gross inequality’: a picture which it says isn’t true.