Monday’s papers feature a variety of stories, some of the papers lead on the state of the health service, whilst the ongoing coverage of the Tory leadership race is another main story being splashed on the front pages. 

Worst NHS staff crisis ever

The Daily Mirror leads with the “bombshell report” from a cross-party group of MPs over “the worst NHS staff crisis ever.” The paper goes on to say “exhausted workers are said to be quitting in droves.” 

For the Guardian, the “hard-hitting” report highlight fresh evidence that the problems are even worse than official figures suggests because some vacancies are not advertised – as hospitals cannot afford to fill them. 

The Metro points out the government is accused of having “no credible plan” to address the issues. The paper says the “NHS is on its knees.” 

Tory leadership race: row between Sunak and Truss over China

The BBC One Tory leadership TV debate kicks off tonight, and the leadership race is the other main talking point ahead of it. 

There is a row between Sunak and Truss over China, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper says Rishi Sunak has accused Liz Truss of helping Beijing to infiltrate British universities when she was an education minister. Sunak says China is the “biggest long-term threat” to the UK and that politicians have turned a blind eye to China’s “nefarious activities” for too long. 

Sunak’s tough words on China also feature on the Sun’s front page. The paper describes them as “a major pitch to the Tory membership.” 

Over in Team Truss – the Daily Mail has a response from the Liz Truss camp with the headline £Tough on China Mr Sunak? Pull the other one” 

The paper speaks to former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith who tells the paper that for the last two years, the Treasury under Sunak’s leadership, has pushed hard for an economic deal with China. 

The Daily Express leads with Liz Truss’s plans to boost economic growth. The pro-Truss paper says she wants to develop high-tech, but low-regulation, areas for business investment, similar to Margaret Thatcher’s “enterprise zones.”

The i newspaper observes that the briefing war has ramped up between the candidates – and that they are ignoring pleas from Tory MPs not to “kick lumps out of each other.” The paper’s headline calls the race “toxic.” 

The Financial Times reports that Britain’s overseas aid programme has been “thrown into confusion” with the Treasury blocking “non-essential” new payments over the summer.