MONEY COULD HAVE BEEN SPENT ON THE FUNDING TO DUAL THE A1

Officials at the North East Combined Authority have said that the £1.8bn provided to the mayor for transport improvements could not have been used to dual the A1 in Northumberland.

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It comes amid criticism from leading Tories on the county council who have argued the cash was promised for the long-awaited dualling under the previous Government.

The A1 is owned by National Highways, with decisions on improvements made by the Westminster Government. The new round of funding, which was confirmed last week, is expected to be used for the £900m extension of the Metro to Washington.

Plans to dual a 13-mile stretch of the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham were given the green light under Rishi Sunak's Government following a string of lengthy and controversial delays. The timing of the decision was heavily criticised at the time, coming after the Tories had called a general election and with Labour well ahead in the polls.

Subsequently, the project - expected to cost more than £500m - was scrapped as part of the autumn budget. Officials deemed the scheme "poor value for money" while the previous Government was accused of making an "unfunded" commitment.