What the papers say – February 12

The green signal being given to construction of a new railway between London and Crewe makes headlines in many of Wednesday’s papers.

The Financial Times leads with the HS2 announcement, with the paper calling the project a “political gamble”.

The Guardian says Prime Minister Boris Johnson is staking his reputation on the project, which aims to “boost capacity and cut fares and journey times”, while the Daily Express calls the project Mr Johnson’s “biggest gamble yet”.

Metro jokes with the name of the project as High Spend 2, with estimated costs of £106 billion, while the i says it is the largest infrastructure project in Europe.

Elsewhere, the Times leads with Mr Johnson being “furious” after judges blocked a number of people from being deported to Jamaica.

The Daily Telegraph carries a preview of a speech from BBC chairman Sir David Clementi in which he will suggest that scrapping the licence fee will “weaken” Britain.

The Daily Mail leads with fears the NHS will be “overwhelmed by an old-age health crisis”.

The Daily Mirror reports on the coronavirus outbreak and a so-called superspreader fearing a backlash.

The Sun carries an interview with Paul Hollywood’s ex-girlfriend.

And the DailyStar reports on fears over a new storm.