Mayors unite to issue new appeal on HS2

Khan and Burnham join forces with plea for Euston terminus to be built

- Rachael Burford Chief Political Correspondent

THE mayors of London and Manchester today issued an unprecedented joint appeal calling for ministers to ensure Britain's flagship High Speed 2 rail project is not scaled back.

In a joint letter to Transport Secretary Mark Harper, both Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham warned of the devastating economic impact delaying or abandoning parts of HS2 could have on the UK.

They argued that the cities need "certainty that the HS2 terminus will be at Euston" amid reports that the line linking the capital to the Midlands and the North could terminate in Ealing rather than central London to save billions of pounds. They are also pressing for an underground HS2 station at Manchester Piccadilly.

"Both in London and the North, there is a consensus that current plans for both damage stations could permanently Britain's economic ambitions," they said in the letter, which was also signed by the leaders of Camden and Manchester councils Georgia Gould and Bev Craig.