HS2: 'Crazy' not to review project over soaring costs - Shapps

Image source, Alstom

The former transport secretary has said it would be "crazy" not to review plans for the HS2 rail link as costs have soared.

Grant Shapps told the BBC that the Ukraine war and a spike in inflation mean any government would need to make "serious decisions" on affordability.

The BBC understands a definitive decision on HS2 will be made in the coming week.

The government has so far refused to commit to the current plans.

The last official estimate on HS2 costs, excluding the cancelled Eastern section, added up to about £71bn.

The prime minister and the chancellor have been discussing the future of the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the project against the backdrop of spiralling costs.

But speaking on the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Shapps said that no decision had been taken as of yet.

"We do have to respond to the budgets," he said.

"We've been not only been hit by the coronavirus, but the war in Ukraine... any responsible government has to ask whether that sequencing still stacks up for what the country requires."

Former prime minister Boris Johnson has warned, however, against "mutilating" the project in a letter to Rishi Sunak.

It was under Mr Johnson's government that HS2 - intended to link London, the Midlands and the north of England - was given the green light to start construction in 2020.

The first part of HS2, between west London and Birmingham, is in mid-construction.

But the scheme as a whole has already faced delays, cost increases and cuts - including to the planned eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds.

Cabinet minister Grant Shapps said on Sunday it would be "irresponsible" to carry on pumping money in on that basis and that there was a "perfectly legitimate question" about the "sequencing" of the high-speed rail line.

Mr Shapps also suggested that HS2 was not the "be all and end all" for rail connectivity and said the government had spent £22bn on transport in the north of England since 2010.

But more than 80 companies and business leaders sought clarity over the commitment to HS2 on Saturday.

In a letter to the government, they expressed "deep concern" over "the constant uncertainty" that "plagues" the project.

However, a government spokesperson said on Friday that "our focus remains on delivering" HS2.