Union bosses demand emergency HS2 meeting: 'Economic benefits must not be wasted'

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Unions are demanding an urgent summit with ministers, mayors and other stakeholders to ensure the northern section of HS2 continues.

After weeks of speculation since The Independent revealed that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are considering abandoning phase two of the project and leaders from across the union movement are calling for talks to resolve all issues pending.

“The enormous economic benefits of the northern section of HS2 must not be squandered through continued Conservative incompetence,” they said in a joint statement.

Leaders of transport unions TSSA, RMT and Aslef, as well as Unite and GMB and trade union body TUC said ministers “must urgently call an emergency summit” to find a solution to concerns regarding the costs of building the Birmingham-Manchester section.

The Independentthis month revealed that secret documents outlining the cost benefits of abandoning the project railway from Birmingham to Manchester had been drawn up for a face-to-face meeting between Mr Sunak and Mr Hunt.

Although £2.3 billion had already been spent on After the construction of the second phase, documents suggested £34 billion would be saved by abandoning any future projects.

After this publication reported the plans, dubbed Project Redwood, Mr Sunak faced a backlash, with Boris Johnson and leading Conservative George Osborne warning the Prime Minister that he must not "mutilate" the project.

Five Labor mayors also joined forces to attempt to detail Mr Sunak's plans to remove the northern section, and Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, said removing the northern section would make it "the most expensive white electricity...