Britain's mostly right-wing newspapers branded parliamentary Speaker John Bercow an obnoxious, despotic traitor on Tuesday after his bombshell ruling threw the Brexit process into disarray.
After Bercow ruled MPs could not vote again on the EU divorce deal unless it was substantially changed, newspapers labelled him the "Brexit Destroyer" and a "preening egotist" bent on stopping Britain leaving.
But editorials in the more pro-EU papers said the dramatic situation, 10 days out from Britain's scheduled departure date, was entirely Prime Minister Theresa May's fault and Bercow had been right to assert parliamentary primacy over of the 2016 referendum vote to leave the European Union.
The Daily Mail's front page was a picture of Bercow grinning, with the headline: "Smirk that says: Brexit be damned." Its parliamentary sketch said: "Me, me, me... the twitchy windbag was at his despotic worst." And its editorial said Bercow, 56, was revelling in a "brazen act of sabotage... detonating this bombshell at the most inconvenient and sensitive moment."
"Could John Bercow be the most treacherous speaker ever? -
"If the risks are high for the speaker, they are higher for Mrs May. She could lose her Brexit deal and lose power. She only has herself to blame."
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