HS2 thrown into uncertainty as Boris Johnson asks former boss to conduct review into rail project

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said the "premature" move appeared to be designed to win support for the former foreign secretary's leadership bid

An artist’s impression of an HS2 train on the Birmingham and Fazeley viaduct, part of the proposed route for the rail scheme (HS2/PA)

Boris Johnson has been accused of throwing the future of HS2 into uncertainty after it emerged he has asked a former boss of the £56 billion pound rail project to conduct a review into “whether and how” it should proceed.

Labour’s shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said that it was “premature” for Mr Johnson to be making appointments before he has even won the battle for 10 Downing Street, and suggested the move was designed to curry favour with the Conservative members who will decide the successor to Theresa May.

It came as civic leaders from across the North of England wrote to all contenders for the Conservative leadership urging them to affirm their commitment to the delivery in full of both HS2 – which will link London to the Midlands and the North - and Northern Powerhouse Rail – which will provide east-west services.

The former foreign secretary told a private meeting of Conservative constituency chairs at the weekend that former HS2 chairman Douglas Oakervee would “have a look at the business case” for the project and “think about whether and how we proceed”

Although Mr Oakervee has previously said it would be “catastrophic for the UK” if HS2 was cancelled, Mr Johnson’s decision is likely to plunge the project into fresh uncertainty.

The Tory leadership favourite reportedly told the meeting that he was “worried” about the prospect of cancelling a big national project of this scale, but thought the spending could be “reprofiled” to prioritise NPR and the northern leg of HS2.

Conservative party leadership candidate Boris Johnson leaves his house in London (EPA)

But Mr McDonald said his comments betrayed a “basic lack of understanding” of the purpose of HS2, which would free up large parts of the conventional network for enhanced local and freight services.

“To suggest this is an either/or question is nonsense,” said the shadow transport secretary. “It just doesn’t stack up, it’s misleading to say it can be done in that way.”

He added: “This looks like Boris being opportunistic. It’s about him getting elected as leader, not about the transport and climate needs of the country. I hope this isn’t code for pulling the rug from underneath HS2, because it is a critically important bit of kit.”

In their joint letter, civic leaders including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Liverpool Metro mayor Steve Rotheram and leaders of councils like Leeds, Bradford, Newcastle and York, said that there were “damaging levels of uncertainty” over future government funding for NPR and the second phase of HS2.

Citing the chaos of last year’s timetable changes on northern networks, they warned the six Conservative leadership candidates that a failure to provide certainty of investment would send “a clear and powerful signal … that once again the North has been overlooked by Westminster”.

HS2 aims to efficiently link London with the Midlands and the North (Reuters)

They warned: “Without HS2, NPR’s costs will rise and its impact will fall. Without NPR, HS2 will fail to achieve its full potential.

“The economic case for HS2 relies upon Phase 2b being delivered to the cities of the North, and it is only through the full delivery of both HS2 and NPR that the North can see truly transformative benefits, north to south and east to west.”

The director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Henri Murison said: “Reviewing HS2 is ongoing by those building the project every day and rigorous analysis is always of value.

“But building the new lines to and from the North to cities including Leeds through the East Midlands, connecting Manchester Airport to Liverpool for instance on the west, should not be questioned and instead be outside the scope of any review.”

A spokesman for Sajid Javid's leadership camapaign said that the Bromsgrove MP was "firmly behind" HS2 and would make a "significant commitment" to NPR through his proposed £100 billion National Infrastructure Fund. "This is very much a key plank of his plan to rebalance the economy," said the spokesman.