Rishi Sunak has scrapped the northern leg of HS2, finally confirming widely reported news he has been calling "speculation" for weeks.
But he was unable to escape the irony of scrapping the Manchester leg of HS2 while delivering a speech inside the city's old train station. Mr Sunak - who was introduced to the stage in Manchester by his wife Akshata Murthy - says HS2 had become too expensive. It was initially budgeted at £30 billion but the cost is now estimated to have soared higher than £100 billion.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who was until recently in charge of the Department for Transport claimed that Manchester will still experience a “much faster journey time”, insisting it was due to the coronavirus pandemic that the curtailing was needed. Laying out the policy, he added: "I propose that in future we raise the smoking age by one year, every year. That means a 14 year old today will never be legally sold a cigarette and that they - and their generation - can grow up smoke free."
She later added: “The reason why I am here is really quite simple, and it is because Rishi and I are each other’s best friends.