Sunday newspaper round-up: US trade deal, Huawei, coronavirus, Flybe, HS2, Northern Rail, Serco
Boris Johnson has been warned that he is on course for a diplomatic war with Donald Trump and a furious cabinet row over plans to hand Huawei, the Chinese telecoms firm, access to Britain’s 5G phone network. The US president told Johnson on Friday night that giving a green light to the deal would be a grave threat to national security - risking a split in transatlantic relations that threatens to overshadow Friday’s Brexit celebrations, which Johnson has been working towards for three years. - The Sunday Times
The government-owned firm behind HS2 was last night accused of attempting to "con" Boris Johnson into giving the scheme the green light as former staff members issued a series of explosive allegations about costs being covered up. The Telegraph can disclose that HS2 Ltd has been "revising" agreements with companies carrying out the main construction works on the line so that future cost increases will be borne by the firm, which is funded by taxpayers' money, rather than private contractors. - Sunday Telegraph
Allies of Jeremy Corbyn have been accused of trying to cement their power at the top of the party after they announced plans to appoint new staff to senior posts before the next leader is elected. The party sent an email to staff last week advertising posts of head of press and broadcasting, head of policy development, and deputy regional director in London. The applications have to be made by early February. - Observer
Prince Charles was last night facing embarrassment after taking a series of private jet flights while lecturing world leaders about climate change. On a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, the Prince met activist Greta Thunberg and used an electric Jaguar car to travel to the Swiss resort. But the Mail on Sunday can reveal that in the 11 days before his high-profile appearance, Charles took three flights on private jets for official Government business and one on a helicopter. - Mail on Sunday
NHS staff on high alert over a lethal new virus have been issued with instructions on handling bodies and told that victims may pose a “minor risk” even after they die. The guidance is in an 11-page dossier that was prepared for hospitals by Public Health England (PHE). It emerged as China warned that the spread of the virus was “accelerating” and the UK was poised to evacuate about 200 citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the centre of the illness. - The Sunday Times
Flybe is racing to plug a multimillion-pound hole in its finances as the Government decides whether to step in with a bridging loan. The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that Europe’s biggest regional airline has held a series of emergency meetings with airports over millions of pounds in unpaid landing fees. - Sunday Telegraph
Scrapping the HS2 rail project will cost at least £12 billion in write-offs and compensation and plunge major construction companies into financial peril, ministers are being warned. Sources close to the beleaguered scheme told the Observer that extra costs of £3bn-£4bn would be incurred even if it were scrapped immediately. £9bn has been spent already. - Observer
The billionaire helping to bankroll Extinction Rebellion became the world's top hedge fund manager last year thanks to major investments in firms hit by environmental scandals. Sir Chris Hohn, who has donated £200,000 to the controversial climate change pressure group and is feared in City boardrooms for putting pressure on companies, saw his investment firm join the ranks of the world's largest hedge funds last year after a stunning performance. - Mail on Sunday
Northern Rail is set to be renationalised in a week of upheaval on the railways. Arriva, part of German state giant Deutsche Bahn, is expected to hand back the franchise, which has been blighted by strikes, infrastructure delays, cancellations and sliding punctuality. - The Sunday Times
Outsourcing giant Serco is taking on an international coalition of pension funds for allegedly misleading investors over fraud in its business tagging criminals. The BBC Pension Trust, Shell Pension Trust, British Airways Pension Trustees and the National Pension Service of Korea are among more than 100 funds claiming compensation over the scandal, which emerged in 2013. - Sunday Telegraph
One of the most senior figures in the US government has warned Sajid Javid to delay a “discriminatory” tax on big tech companies, in the latest sign of tensions with Donald Trump’s administration ahead of critical trade talks. Steven Mnuchin, the US treasury secretary, used a breakfast meeting with the chancellor on Saturday to warn him directly against applying the new tax as part of his forthcoming budget. - Observer
Four of the nine Bank of England officials responsible for setting interest rates will vote for a cut next week, experts predict. Economists think there will be a nearly equal split in the Monetary Policy Committee, with half of the members voting to take the base rate down from 0.75 per cent to 0.5 per cent. - Mail on Sunday
Royal Bank of Scotland is considering cutting thousands of jobs at NatWest as its new chief executive prepares to shake up the taxpayer-owned lender. Under Alison Rose - who last November became the first woman to run RBS - bosses are working on “Project Tusk” to slash costs. - The Sunday Times
Britain’s flight paths are set to be redrawn for the first time in 60 years as the Government warned growing congestion in the skies will add half an hour to journey times in the next decade if nothing is done. The planned overhaul of routes will reduce noise for people living near airports by allowing planes to take off and land more steeply, the Department of Transport said. - Sunday Telegraph
A key member of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry has resigned after fury among survivors and the bereaved at her links to the company that made the combustible cladding. Less than 48 hours before the inquiry is due to start hearing evidence about “decisions which led to the installation of a highly combustible cladding system”, Boris Johnson announced Benita Mehra was standing down from a panel advising the chairman of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick. - Observer
A nurse wearing a protective suit and face mask treating the sick in Wuhan has claimed that 90,000 people have already been infected by the coronavirus in China – far more than the figure of just 1,975 issued by government officials. Her warning from the heart of the outbreak emerged as the Chinese government faced accusations of censoring criticism of its handling of the disease in order to play down the crisis. - Mail on Sunday