Boris Johnson faces fresh demands to axe HS2 after it emerged ministers ‘covered-up’ huge costs

BORIS Johnson faced fresh demands to axe HS2 as it emerged Ministers knew the high speed project was over-budget THREE YEARS ago.

The first major warning came in a letter in May 2016, two months after legislation had been approved by MPs, it was reported.

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The revelation sparked fears over whether Parliament had been told the whole story.

Patrick McLoughlin, then Transport Secretary, wrote to the chancellor at the time, George Osborne, warning that the first phase of HS2 was £1billion over-budget.

Concerns have grown after this was initially due to cost £24 billion.

The first phase plans to link a railway between London and Birmingham from December 2026.

Responding to the latest developments over HS2 plans, John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, last night demanded Ministers “come clean”.

HUGE SCHEDULED COSTS

He stormed: “As sceptics have suspected all along, HS2 is dangerously close to coming off the rails. With experts saying it will never be delivered on time and on budget, and costs likely to increase further, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for taxpayers.

A Department for Transport spokesman insisted HS2 is Europe’s biggest construction programme and “like all major, complex projects, delivery plans evolve over time”.

Before MPs went on summer recess, Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani informed the House that “there is only one budget for HS2, and it is £55.7billion”.

But last week saw the launch of a Government-commissioned review to assess whether the HS2 plans should be grounded to a halt.

The high speed project is being funded entirely by taxpayers, but this new setback has left the Government red-faced.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance has campaigned for HS2 to be stopped in its tracks, citing the project’s unnecessary escalation of costs and how it was “likely to do nothing to help the ‘northern powerhouse’”.

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In contrast, George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse Partnership thinktank has begun its own HS2 review which aims to reiterate the importance of the railway project in re-balancing the UK’s economy.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps is due to address the Commons next week with updates on HS2, as MPs return from their summer recess on September 3.

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