Newspaper headlines: Sunak 'turns on predecessors' after HS2 'train wreck'

Time for a look at the papers.

The Guardian believes that, with his speech to the Conservative Party Conference, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has "unleashed a Tory civil war". It highlights criticism of his decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2, which was finally confirmed during the address in Manchester.

The Daily Mail's lead acknowledges that the shelving of part of HS2 is "a major gamble". It also admits that Mr Sunak's plan to phase out smoking could "spark an immediate Tory revolt". But it still suggests the speech was a "common sense revolution". It focuses specifically on his statement that "a man is a man and a woman is a woman", as an antidote to what it calls "wokery".

Railway puns are used on several front pages. For the Metro it is "Rishi: I'm on track". But the Daily Mirror goes for "train wreck". It thinks the cancellation of the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester "condemns the north to a future of decline". The paper's editorial concludes that Mr Sunak is "only the latest ringmaster of a circus which needs to leave town".

The Sun describes the speech as "radical Rishi's rallying cry". It hails Mr Sunak's performance as a sign that - even though the Conservatives may be behind in the polls - "they will not succumb meekly to defeat". That positivity is shared by the Daily Telegraph. Its leader column argues that the prime minister delivered an "almost presidential" speech, and suggests this was "less an agenda for wholesale change than a strong reassertion of traditional Tory values".

The political editor of the i newspaper, Hugo Gye, suggests that some of the rhetoric at the conference "was teetering on the verge of ridiculous", as ministers competed to show off their tough credentials. But he acknowledges that - even if they are beaten in the next general election - "no one can say they weren't fighting with everything they had".

According to the Financial Times, Metro Bank is seeking to raise up to £600m after its share price fell by almost 50% in recent weeks. The FT says that Metro - which began operations in 2010 - is in talks to "shore up its balance sheet". The bank is quoted as saying it "continues to consider how best to optimise its capital resources".

And the Times reports that diners at a London restaurant are to be given the chance to enjoy the banquet served to King Charles, at Versailles, during his state visit to France last month. For £275, customers will tuck into a crab and lobster starter inspired by Louis XIV, an epicurean "poulet de Bresse" main course, and a raspberry dessert requested by President Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte.