HS2 without northern leg is 'very poor value for money'

FAILING to extend HS2 to the North means the £66billion project is now "very poor value for money" to taxpayers, MPs have warned.

- Neil Lancefield

The northern leg of the highspeed rail line to Manchester from Birmingham was axed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last October as costs spiralled.

But MPs on the Commons Public Accounts Committee say there are "many uncertainties" in the Government's assessment that it was better to complete Phase 1 than cancel the whole project.

Its report also said the committee was "highly sceptical" the Department for Transport can attract private investment for the planned London terminus at Euston.