Cabinet divided over Sunak's HS2 'blatant act of vandalism'

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A major ministerial divide has occurred over Rishi Sunak's plan to abandon the northern part of HS2, as senior Tory leaders join ministers to push Prime Minister to rethink cancellation.

The Independentunderstands Leveling Secretary Michael Gove and Transport Secretary Mark Harper are 'very unhappy' with the plot of the Prime Minister to scrap the Birmingham to Manchester route.

In one of the biggest political stories of the year, this publication revealed for the first time that Mr Sunak was in secret talks – dubbed Project Redwood – with its chancellor Jeremy Hunt abandoning the second phase of the project. Former chancellor George Osborne and former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine described the proposal as a “blatant act of vandalism ”, which would end up being a case of “economic self-harm”.

After the affair broke on September 14, Downing Street repeatedly stood in the way before ministers agreed to negotiations on the most dramatic move in years to halt government spending. £34bn infrastructure.

The story sparked unprecedented fallout, with two former prime ministers attacking Mr Sunak amid a cascade of criticism and ministerial divisions. Boris Johnson and David Cameron were joined by former chancellor Philip Hammond in urging the Prime Minister not to cut the high-speed rail route.

Mr. Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt were reportedly surprised by the backlash from business leaders, northern mayors and senior Tories and delayed a final decision and announcement until after next week's party conference.

A source close to government discussions on HS2 told The Independent: “The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have opened a big divide within the Conservative Party. There are important figures within the cabinet who oppose [the abandonment of HS2]. Michael Gove and Mark Harper are very unhappy. »

The source added: “They have bottled up any announcement at the moment. The reaction has been so great that they are not ready to do it…