LIVE HS2 updates as Rishi Sunak to announce Birmingham to Manchester leg will be SCRAPPED

Rishi Sunak is widely expected to announce he is axing the Birmingham to Manchester HS2 leg today after weeks of speculation. The Prime Minister - who yesterday said he would 'not be rushed into a premature decision' and denied that he had already made his mind up over the future of HS2 - will axe the scheme during his speech in Manchester today.

Mr Sunak is expected to say the HS2 line will stop at Birmingham, where trains will continue to Manchester on the existing West Coast Mainline track, according to Sky News and the BBC. It has been reported that the line will start in central London at Euston, rather than Old Oak Common, but that between Birmingham and Manchester trains will not be high-speed.

It is predicted he will announce a package of transport measures - to improve roads, buses and trains - reportedly worth £30bn to 'soften the blow'.

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But his decision has been met with fury by politicians across the country and in Greater Manchester. Mancunians 'won't forget' how the government 'treated the city', Mr Andy Burnham said on the eve of the crucial HS2 announcement. He desperately urged the PM not to 'pull the plug' on the northern section of the mammoth infrastructure project.

"It's no way to treat this city when you're in this city," he added.

"It's just disrespectful. The only thing people here can take from this is [that] our voice doesn't matter; this city doesn't matter. They will do what they want to do. I do believe people won't forget how Manchester was treated in this moment when we welcomed this party into this city.

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