Business leaders slam plans to scale back HS2

Plans to axe the northern leg of the HS2 high-speed rail link have drawn criticism from business and Tory grandees. Nearly two dozen business leaders have written to the prime minister to urge him not to scrap the northern leg of HS2. The group, which includes Representatives from Heathrow, Siemens, Mace and Skanska, warned the prime minister: “From a business perspective, these constant changes to a flagship infrastructure project add to the perceived risk of the UK as a place to do business, as well as adding to the cost of each and every infrastructure project in the future.” West Midlands mayor Andy Street has written to regional business leaders to pressure Sunak to change his mind. In an e-mail titled “HS2 Lobbying”, recipients were told that the prime minister’s plans “would be a disaster for the country, leaving us with the most expensive white elephant in UK history”. And Lord Heseltine and George Osborne have penned a piece for The Times to say why scrapping the HS2 line to Manchester would be “a gross act of vandalism” and “economic self-harm”. “How could you ever again claim to be levelling up when you cancel the biggest levelling-up project in the country?” The Times (£)The FT (£)