Rishi Sunak shot HS2 video days before announcement - then said he'd not decided

05 October 2023 , 07:25

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Rishi Sunak shot HS2 video days before announcement - then said he'd not decided

Rishi Sunak has been caught out after recording a video announcing HS2 was being scrapped despite claiming no decision had been reached for days afterwards.

Until yesterday the PM insisted no decision had been reached despite a clamour for answers. But a video released after his Tory Party Conference speech was clearly shot in Downing Street - meaning it would have been recorded before Sunday.

The Government announced the high speed link to Manchester had been scrapped in what has been dubbed a "betrayal" of the north. In the days before Mr Sunak and members of the cabinet were repeatedly pressed on what was happening after arriving in the city for the conference at the weekend.

This morning Tory Transport Secretary Mark Harper had a strop on air after being confronted over the timings, saying he couldn't understand why people were getting "het-up" about it.

The Prime Minister filmed the clip in Downing Street before leaving for Manchester (RishiSunak/X)

The decision has sparked widespread anger (RishiSunak/X)

On Sunday Mr Sunak told the BBC: "Look, there's already spades in the ground and we're getting on with delivering it. I'm not going to comment on all this speculation. We've got a project, we've got spades in the ground and we're getting on with it but it's right to focus on levelling up."

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But it is now clear that the announcement had been filmed by then. ITV reported that the Downing Street room - which had a picture hanging behind the PM - has been used to host world leaders before.

Meanwhile ministers, including Mr Harper, batted away speculation about the project's future, refusing to confirm reports that it would be scrapped. After the location of the video was spotted, the PM's team responded: "The decision was taken by cabinet this morning. Of course the prime minister has done a lot of work on it over a number of weeks but legal responsibility of the decision lies with the transport secretary and a decision isn’t a decision until the cabinet signs it off."

And tetchy Mr Harper told Sky News today: "I don't understand why people are getting so het up on this particular issue." He said that the Cabinet had only approved the decision yesterday morning.

Mr Sunak, asked if he would apologise for the shambles: "What we're doing is going to be better. You keep using the word scrap but what we're doing is replacing HS2 with something that's going to benefit far more people in far more places."

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Dave Burke