Boris Johnson defends 'levelling up' credentials on North East visit after rail controversy

• Report by Tom Barton

Boris Johnson defended his 'levelling up' credentials while on his second visit to the North East in two weeks.

The Prime Minister was accused of 'breaking promises' and 'cancelling levelling up' when the Government revised its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

He has now called such accusations "absolute tripe" and "nonsense".

Under the Department for Transport's new £96 billion 'Integrated Rail Plan' (IRP), existing plans for high speed trains in the North East were abandoned.

Instead, the region will see newly announced improvements to existing services, including station upgrades and the installation of digital signalling.

In a lengthy statement, Councillor Martin Gannon - Labour leader of Gateshead Council and Chair of the North East Joint Committee - referred to the move as a "hammer blow for the North East" and the "very opposite of levelling up".

Speaking from a robotics factory in Blyth after a chaotic South Shields speech, Mr Johnson hit back at such claims - saying the rail "agenda we're delivering is absolutely extraordinary by any standards".

He went on to highlight how estimated journey times to and from the North East will be reduced under the new plans compared to current durations.

Journeys to the North East will be faster than they are currently - but slower than estimated under the old plans.

Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell called the Government's response to the outcry "patronising" and "the perfect illustration of why this country has such a large North-South divide in the first place".

She added: "The Prime Minister would get more respect if he just admitted the truth - the Government wanted to save money, so the Northern rail investments they promised us had to go.

"To tell Northern business leaders that they are wrong and don't know what's good for them is embarrassing.

"And the main benefit of HS2 was always moving the faster trains onto a dedicated track to free up space to run more local services," Ms McKinnell continued.

"The idea that you can improve local and regional services by cutting swathes of the North off from high-speed rail makes no sense whatsoever."

Mr Johnson was in the North East primarily to deliver a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) about renewable energy.

The address has received much attention due to the Prime Minister losing his place, referencing Peppa Pig and unicorns, and making car noises.

Watch Boris Johnson's speech in full below:

Analysis by Tom Barton

It was an incredibly awkward moment in the marquee on the Port of Tyne in South Shields as we watched the Prime Minister shuffle awkwardly through his papers for nearly 30 seconds.

This was one of Boris Johnson’s most important annual speeches to business leaders, and it was all going a bit wrong. 

His suggestion that the CBI members pay a visit to Peppa Pig World, 280 miles to the south in Hampshire, had already drawn more than the odd confused glance. Among the attractions, according to the Prime Minister, are the “emphasis on new mass transit systems”.

But he has found himself under fire under his own plans for “mass transit systems”. Boris Johnson’s infrastructure plans are seen intrinsically connected to his promises on levelling up. 

And after a week defending his downgraded plans for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, his trip to the North East was marred by questions over whether he really will close the north-south divide in the ways he’s promised.