How the papers reacted: Project Fear on trial as PM ‘savaged’ in first EU referendum showdown

David Cameron might have emerged virtually unscathed from his first major EU referendum showdown last night. But the focus in much of the press coverage today is not on the Prime Minister. Instead, the anger and hostility of those in the audience leads most of the round-ups in the morning papers of how Cameron got on in the Sky debate. His ‘scaremongering’ was repeatedly mocked. He was also laughed at over his ‘WW3’ Brexit suggestion by those watching. This was ‘Project Fear’ on trial. So what did the papers make of it all?

The Prime Minister’s failure to put a date on when he would meet his promise to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands is the focus in The Times. Given how important immigration is becoming as a topic in the EU referendum – and also the extent to which the leave campaign are now focusing on the issue – the PM is unlikely to be pleased with a headline which suggests he simply doesn’t know when his target will be met: ‘I don’t know when we will meet migration target, says Cameron’.