Mayor Sadiq Khan astonished HS2 could become a 'shuttle service' between Birmingham and west London

London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was astonished that HS2 could become a “shuttle service” between Birmingham and west London.

He said it 'beggared belief the Government was seriously considering cancelling the High Speed 2 station at Euston, cancelling High Speed 2 going from Birmingham to Manchester.

Mr Khan said: "I’m astonished and alarmed and it’s worth reminding people what this will mean. This will mean that in future journeys from Birmingham, to the centre of London on High Speed 2 will take longer than it currently takes.

"I’m astonished that the Government’s allowed costs to escalate the way they have. They’ve been in power since 2010, but I’m also astonished they are seriously considering having a High Speed 2 line that is a shuttle service between Birmingham Curzon Street and Old Oak Common, which is six miles to the west of central London.

"Also in Euston. They have destroyed businesses, they’ve demolished homes. They’ve let down a community.

"Euston is a cluster of Life Sciences, of tech, of education, of a culture and they will miss out on this investment as will communities north of Birmingham and Manchester.”

Rishi Sunak has insisted he is committed to levelling up despite declining to back building HS2 to the North in the face of warnings by senior Tories not to axe the rail project.

The Prime Minister is considering scrapping or delaying the leg of the contentious rail line from Birmingham to Manchester in response to soaring costs.

“I’m not going to comment on that type of speculation,” he said in an interview on Monday.

"But what I would say is we’re absolutely committed to levelling up and spreading opportunity around the country, not just in the North but in the Midlands, in all other regions of our fantastic country."

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