Anger over HS2 cost 'finally being exposed'
Boris Johnson was today urged to scrap HS2 after it emerged that ministers knew it was £1 billion over budget three years ago.
The warning came in a letter from former Cannock miner Patrick McLoughlin, who was Transport Secretary at the time, to then-Chancellor George Osborne over the first phase of the line from London to Birmingham.
It was sent in May 2016, two months after legislation for the first stretch of line was approved.
It comes as a further blow to the project, which is under review over concerns that it could cost more than £100bn – almost double its budget.
Theresa May’s Government repeatedly insisted that HS2 would be built on time and on budget, with Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani telling the Commons last month that “there is only one budget for HS2, and it is £55.7 billion”.
Campaigners and MPs today urged the Prime Minister to cancel HS2 immediately.
Lichfield Conservative MP Michael Fabricant said the “deceit” surrounding HS2 was “finally being exposed”.
“With the Government inquiry into the future of the project, I hope it will mean a total rethink about its future,” he added.
Joe Rukin, of Stop HS2, accused ministers of misleading the public over the cost of HS2 for a number of years.
He said: “Work on the project must stop immediately, as this latest scandal makes a mockery of the concept of an parliamentary democracy and an accountable executive.”
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said “regular updates” had been provided, adding that it had come under “extensive scrutiny” including studies and reviews by the National Audit Office.
