George Osborne's surprise appointment as editor of the London Evening Standard was met by words of caution from the newspapers.

The former chancellor was welcomed into the journalistic community by The Times, who said he would "fit right in" to the media world - which it described as a haven for the "determined and the mischievous".

Yet the paper also warned in its leader column that the MP should "be aware ... of the potential for conflicts of interest".

It said that in the morning Mr Osborne will have to "think like a ruthless scrutineer, seeking the story those in government most want to hide", and by afternoon "be the prime minister's supplicant, falling into line with her whips".

READ MORE: Osborne called to step down from Westminster after shock appointment as Evening Standard editor

But The Daily Mirror did not take too kindly to the news, claiming the role was "incompatible with representing the good people of Tatton in Cheshire".

In its editorial, the paper said: "The next time he pretends to champion the 'Northern Powerhouse' he'll probably mean leafy Crouch End and Muswell Hill at the top end of London."

The red top called on Mr Osborne to donate his pay to charity if he "really wants to be editor while doing everything else" - but said to be an MP should be a "full-time role" and that he was "short-changing constituents and politics".

A similar tune was adopted by The Sun, which declared that the MP was "doing a disservice to Parliament, his party and his voters".

It called-out a series of "conflicts of interest", and claimed that Mr Osborne "betrays incredible naivety about his new job and contempt for his current one".

Meanwhile The Guardian described the politician as the county's "most celebrated trainee journalist" as it welcomed him to the industry.

In its editorial, the paper noted that it was the first time a former chancellor had edited a daily paper, even though journalists have become chancellors before.

It likened the move to a "celebrity sprint across the no man's land that separates high politics and serious journalism".

Yet it warned "editing is hard, full-time work" and said "something will have to give" in his portfolio - although "it should not be the journalism".

The Daily Telegraph said the 45-year-old may have been "thinking of his own future first" as his Tatton seat faces the axe at the next general election, and it would be a "waste of his ability if he should retire into obscurity at such a young age".

READ MORE: Osborne called to step down from Westminster after shock appointment as Evening Standard editor

It suggested the Remain MP was joining the growing "liberal elite" outside parliament, and that he could use the new role to "try to establish" a "coherent force" outside the Commons to hold the Prime Minister to account.

However, it noted: "The irony of this appointment is that it will confirm the suspicion that militant Remain today is a cosy, elitist project dominated by the capital.

"Rejection of the establishment is why some people voted Brexit. A Remain crusade run by the establishment is unlikely to win them back."