Transport secretary Mark Harper underwent a fierce grilling from GB News presenter Camilla Tominey over a Government report outlining fresh rail plans in the North.
The scrapping of HS2 has put a new onus on the Government to focus on Northern areas with questions being raised over its levelling up agenda.
Under the Network North plan, the Government is planning to invest £36 billion in “hundreds of projects in towns, cities and rural areas” in a bid to improve infrastructure in the absence of HS2’s northern leg.
In the Network North rail 40-page prospectus, they have pledged to funnel £1.8 billion into the North East with money made available by scrapping the northern leg of HS2.
Camilla Tominey grilled Mark Harper on GB News
GB NEWS
Harper has confirmed that the local mayor will be able to decide how to spend the funds.
Tominey criticised the report, pressing Harper on a slew of errors and Labour’s suggestion that 85 per cent of projects earmarked are “old”.
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“Why is the Metrolink tram to Manchester Airport in there as a new project when it was built in 2014?”, she asked.
“It currently only goes to one terminal of Manchester Airport, we’re talking about extending it to a the second terminal, so that’s a new investment”, he said.
“I agree it could have been better worded, but it’s very clear that we’re going to extend that connection to a second terminal.”
The GB News presenter then commented on grammar errors in the document’s copy, asking if Harper “proofread” the piece.
HS2 was cancelled by Sunak at the Conservative Party conference PA“I’m very proud of that document”, he said.
“It’s £36 billion of extra transport investment across the North, the Midlands and the rest of the country.
“There are significant projects in there that were not able to be funded previously, we can now deliver them over the years to come.”
Tominey pressed Harper further, saying the report suggests Bournemouth and Southampton are “in the North”, and it has “relocated” Manchester to Preston.
“If I turned in a piece of copy like this to The Telegraph, I think my editor would have a lot of problems with it”, she said.
“It’s ridden with errors.”
The Transport Secretary continued to defend the Government’s work, saying “no it isn’t”.
He added that the tranche of projects will be “widely welcomed” across the country.
