Newspaper headlines: 'Boris quits race' and 'Sunak set for power'

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By BBC News
Staff
PA Media

Metro has the headline "Boris has bottled it" and says Rishi Sunak is on the brink of becoming the next prime minister.

The Times says the former chancellor could be named as Liz Truss's successor as early as today, but quotes a source close to him saying that he was still not taking anything for granted.

The Daily Express says Sunak is the "new PM in waiting". That theme is echoed by the Guardian, which says he's been cast in the role of Tory "messiah" by some of his colleagues.

In an opinion piece, the paper says Sunak would face a nightmare in-tray, and will need political creativity and diplomacy to deal with it.

The Sun suggests that Johnson has stepped aside to avoid chaos, its headline: "Bojo: It's a no". The paper says he has huge charisma and talent, but now is not the right time for him to take office.

The Daily Mail also has praise for the former prime minister. In a comment piece, the paper says he has demonstrated a "gesture of wisdom, honour and statesmanship", and that his time will come again.

It describes Johnson's stepping aside as a "Tory leadership sensation". The Daily Mirror is less favourable, saying that the former prime minister has been left "humiliated", and that Britain is to appoints its latest "unelected PM".

The i says Penny Mordaunt's allies believe she can now pick up the support of Johnson's backers to stay in the race. She's written in the Daily Telegraph, saying that she is ready to deliver unity, discipline, honesty and competency. She describes serving the country in government as one of the greatest honours.

The paper also carries commentary from the chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who has said he will back Rishi Sunak because he can, in his view, be trusted to make difficult choices.

Away from the politics, the Telegraph reports that doctors are being told not to encourage young people to change their names and pronouns.

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The paper claims that NHS England believes children who think they are transgender are just going through a "phase". It says that the health service has announced plans for tightening controls on the treatment of under 18s questioning their gender.

Evidence linking a jailed killer to the unsolved murder of Suzy Lamplugh is to be examined, according to the Mirror. John Cannan, who's 68, is due before a panel next month after serving his minimum term of 35 years. The Parole Board said decisions to release prisoners are based on what risk they pose to the public.

And the Times has details of a study which has found that the fabric of space in the universe is expanding at more than 160,000 miles per hour. The paper says that's faster than the rate predicted by scientific models, and that scientists may need to rewrite their understanding of how the universe has evolved since the big bang.