The transport secretary has defended Rishi Sunak for insisting no decision had been made on scrapping part of HS2 – despite the prime minister recording a video about his announcement days earlier.
Mark Harper told Sky News he did not know “why people are getting so het up” on the issue, and work was done “in advance”.
On Wednesday, the prime minister finally confirmed that the northern leg of the high-speed line will be scrapped after weeks of speculation.
Politics Live: Mark Harper ‘proud’ of HS2 decision despite criticism
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‘I am cancelling HS2’
Although Mr Sunak had insisted no decision had been taken on the fate of the Birmingham to Manchester leg, that claim was thrown into doubt after a video was posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The clip – filmed in Downing Street before the PM travelled to Manchester for the Conservative Party conference – outlined reasons for axing the route.
Sky News has asked Downing Street whether another version was filmed backing HS2, but they said they were not aware.
Mr Harper went on to say he was “proud” of the decision to cut back the project amid backlash from senior Tories including former prime ministers David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
He said they are “absolutely entitled to their opinion” but the facts have changed and the “costs of the project have escalated”.
The original projected cost of HS2 was £33bn but this soared to more than £100bn by some estimates.
In his speech on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said axing phase two would free up £36bn for other transport projects in the North.
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Government promises ‘jam tomorrow’
The decision to cut HS2 has been heavily criticised by northern leaders.
Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram said he had spoken to Mr Harper about plans for transport in the area, but described government proposals as “jam tomorrow”.
He said the savings from scaling back the project won’t be seen for “many years, in some cases decades” – and some of it is “being proposed to be spent down South for potholes”.
With criticism continuing to pile in, Mr Sunak remained defiant and refused to apologise to the people in the North.
Asked whether he would say sorry, he told Radio 4: “No. What I want to say to everybody is that what we’re doing is going to be better. It’s going to be better for our country.”