New EU treaty dominates papers

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The Prime Minister's decision to agree to the new EU reform treaty in Portugal early on Friday is pondered in many of the morning's papers.

It provides the lead for The Times, which reveals that Gordon Brown has set aside three months to ratify the agreement.

The paper suggests that this raises the spectre of "tumultuous parliamentary battles" akin to those which emerged over Maastricht 15 years ago.

A "defiant Brown" commits Britain to the treaty is The Guardian's take on the subject.

The paper suggests that Mr Brown defied the polls, the opposition, unions and the Eurosceptic press to irrevocably commit Britain to greater European integration.

And that's something The Sun is clearly not happy about. The paper accuses the prime minister of using a dinner with 26 other EU leaders to allow a "momentous EU Constitution" to be approved without a referendum.

An act of betrayal, says the paper, which will haunt Mr Brown for the rest of his political days.

'Shameful episode'

The Independent is one of a number of papers with some sharp criticism for the executive chairman of ITV.

The paper suggests that Michael Grade's earlier promise that there would be "zero tolerance" of malpractice on ITV is looking hollow, after it emerged that there would be no sackings over the phone-ins which led to £7.8 million being taken from viewers under false pretences.

The Guardian suggests the company faces a fine of up to £70 million for what it says are the "most blatant examples yet" of viewer deceit involving premium phone lines.

Under the headline, "Ant and Deceit", the Daily Mirror accuses Mr Grade of trying to minimise the impact of what it calls a "shameful episode" by sneaking it out while the BBC was in uproar.

The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail both include pictures of a burning police car, after Thursday's bomb explosion in Karachi.

Suicide bombers

The Daily Mail suggests that suspected suicide bombers attacked the convoy of Benazir Bhutto, as the former Pakistani prime minister returned after eight years in self-imposed exile.

The Daily Telegraph describes the explosion as shattering what had been a festive occasion, with Ms Bhutto being showered with rose petals and mobbed by cheering supporters.

The Daily Mail leads on evidence given to the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, that Dodi Al Fayed had bought an engagement ring. The paper calls it a "sensational twist".

However, it says the jury also heard that Diana had told her friend Lady Annabel Goldsmith shortly before the crash: "I need marriage like a rash on the face."

And the Sun reveals that the former manager of Chelsea, Jose Mourinho, is interested in coaching what the paper describes as "England's Euro footie flops".

It claims that Mourinho would be ready to stage a "dramatic comeback" if England's current manager, Steve McLaren, was axed as a result of the national side's defeat by Russia on Wednesday.