HS2 will now offer poor value for tax payers, MPs warn

COMMITTEE CRITICAL AFTER MANCHESTER LINE SCRAPPED

- NEIL LANCEFIELD

BUILDING HS2 between London and Birmingham but not extending the line to Manchester will be 'very poor value for money,' MPs said.

There are 'many uncertainties' in the Government's assessment that it was better to complete Phase 1 of the project than cancel the whole high-speed railway programme, according to the Commons' Public Accounts Committee.

The committee said it is 'highly sceptical' that the Department for Transport will be able to attract the private investment needed for the planned London terminus at Euston.

The report raises questions about the ramifications of Rishi Sunak's decision to cancel HS2's northern section in October last year as costs spiralled.