Sunak scraps Manchester HS2 leg, plans to stop children today ever legally smoking and says A-levels to be replaced – as it happened

5.40pm BST

Afternoon summary

• Rishi Sunak has formally announced he has cancelled the planned HS2 rail link from Birmingham to Manchester, also unveiling a new post-16 educational qualification in his speech to the Conservative party conference.

• Andy Street, the Conservative mayor for the West Midlands, has decided not to quit over HS2, after the prime minister confirmed he was scrapping the high-speed rail line from Birmingham to Manchester.

• Banning growing numbers of people in England from buying cigarettes is a bold move that will save lives and create the country’s first “smokefree generation”, health charities have said.

Rishi Sunak exits the stage with his wife, Akshata Murty, after making his conference speech. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Updated at 5.41pm BST

5.37pm BST

Here is John Crace’s sketch of the Rishi Sunak speech.