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Downing Street has refused to guarantee the HS2 will run to Manchester as planned amid reports Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are in talks about scrapping the project’s second stage.

It comes after The Independent reported ministers were considering shelving the northern phase amid concerns about spiralling costs and severe delays.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said “spades are already in the ground on our HS2 programme and we’re focused on delivering it” but would not promise the line would go to Manchester.

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“I can’t comment on speculation around a leaked document. It is obviously standard process for departments to discuss the phasing of major projects like HS2… but the work is already under way,” he said.

Asked whether the prime minister was committed to the line going to Manchester, the spokesman said: “We are committed to HS2, to the project.

“I can’t comment on the speculation that’s a result of a photograph. We are as you know looking at the rephasing of the work in the best interests of passengers and taxpayers.”

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Signs that the leg to the northern city may be in trouble came when the DfT confirmed in March that work on the crucial leg between Birmingham and Crewe – which is then due to continue to Manchester – would have to be put on hold because of the impact of inflation.

It meant that services were not going to extend to Manchester until the 2040s.

In its report, The Independent said a cost estimate revealed that the government has already spent £2.3bn on stage two of the railway from Birmingham to Manchester, but that ditching the northern phase could save up to £34bn.

The newspaper said the documents were discussed at a meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday and suggested the £2.3bn was now not recoverable even if it is cancelled.

HS2 plagued by delays

Delivery of the high-speed railway has been a core pledge of the Conservative government but it has been plagued by delays and ever-increasing costs.

The initial opening date of 2026 has fallen back to 2033, while cost estimates have spiralled from about £33bn in 2010 to £71bn in 2019 – excluding the final eastern leg from the West Midlands to the East Midlands.

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Delays to HS2 announced by the government earlier this year to help

It is not just the northern section of the project that has encountered trouble, with there also being doubts about the future of Euston station in London.

Under the HS2 map, Euston is supposed to provide the final leg in the south after linking up to Old Oak Common in the suburbs of northwest London.

However, Transport Secretary Mark Harper recently told MPs that work at Euston would be paused for two years because costs had risen to £4.8bn compared with an initial budget of £2.6bn – which MPs on the Public Accounts Committee described as ” wildly unrealistic”.

Since construction began there six years ago, hundreds of homes and businesses have been demolished – but now the huge building site is virtually empty.

The DfT has said it will use the two-year period to determine its priorities and minimum requirements for the station.

This summer HS2 was also rated “unachievable” as part of an annual report from a government watchdog.

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) gave the first two phases of the rail link – from London to Birmingham, and from Birmingham to Crewe, a “red” rating, saying the whole plan may need to be “reassessed”.

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The government announced further delays to HS2 earlier this year in an effort to “balance the books” after inflation hit the cost of materials.

But analysis exclusively leaked to Sky News showed the two-year pause in works would end up being three-and-a-half years, and was likely to cost the taxpayer at least £366m.

In its report, the IPA said: “Successful delivery of [HS2] appears to be unachievable.”

The watchdog added there were “major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable”.

As a result, it said the project “may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed”.

This latest criticism comes in the same month that HS2 Ltd’s chief executive, Mark Thurston, announced he would be resigning from his post in September.

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

A man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool FC’s title parade faces 24 new charges.

More than 130 people, including children, were injured when Paul Doyle allegedly drove his Ford Galaxy vehicle into hordes of fans at the celebrations on 26 May.

The 53-year-old, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was originally charged with two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, and one count of dangerous driving.

Six of the new alleged offences relate to babies, including one six-month-old and one seven-month-old, proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday.

The new indictment, which was not read out in court, now has 31 counts relating to 29 victims, aged between six months and 77 years old.

Doyle now faces 18 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of wounding with intent, one count of dangerous driving and one count of affray.

He appeared in court via video link from prison and was in tears.

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He did not enter any pleas during the hearing, which lasted around 20 minutes.

The case was adjourned until 4 September, when Doyle is expected to enter pleas.

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

Travellers are being warned about mosquito bites on holiday after a rise in chikungunya infections in people returning to the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also said the first cases of the emerging oropouche virus had been recorded.

Chikungunya typically causes sudden fever and joint pain, which can be debilitating, and lasts from a few days to weeks.

The name comes from a word in a Tanzanian language meaning “that which bends up”, owing to the joint pain associated with it.

Most people recover but in some cases the symptoms can last several months or even years.

It’s spread by mosquito bites in tropical and subtropical regions, and most of the 73 cases reported in the UK so far this year were in London and linked to travel to Sri Lanka, India, and Mauritius.

Only 27 cases were reported in the same January to June period last year.

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Chikungunya can’t spread directly from person to person – so if someone becomes ill in the UK, they can’t pass the infection on, and the mosquitos responsible aren’t present here.

Dr Philip Veal, consultant in public health at the UKHSA, said it can be a “nasty disease” and the increase in cases was “worrying”.

“It is essential to take precautions against mosquito bites when travelling,” he said.

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“Simple steps, such as using insect repellent, covering up your skin and sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets can greatly reduce the risk.”

Chikungunya is mainly found in Asia and Africa, but cases have been reported in Europe and North America this year.

Two vaccines to guard against the infection are available in the UK from private travel clinics.

The first cases of the Oropouche virus have also been confirmed in Britain, according to the UKHSA.

It’s spread by midge and mosquito bites and the three cases are all linked to travel to Brazil.

Oropouche was first identified in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1950s and had been mainly confined to the Amazon area.

However, cases have been increasing since 2023 and have shown up in places such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Peru.

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Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea and vomiting.

Anyone who gets such symptoms after being in Central and South America or the Caribbean is advised to get urgent medical advice.

Most people recover on their own, but it can cause severe disease in the very elderly or those with a weak immune system.

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

A man staying at a hotel that has been the focus of a series of protests has denied a charge of sexual assault and faces a trial next month.

Mohammed Sharwarq, a 32-year-old Syrian national, was arrested after police were called to the Bell Hotel on the Epping High Road in Essex yesterday, police said.

Sharwarq, who is alleged to have kissed a man on the neck, indicated a plea of not guilty to a charge of sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today.

He indicated guilty pleas to six further charges concerning four complainants – with two counts of common assault and four of assault by beating.

Sharwarq is alleged to have punched a man in the face, thrown an object at a man, slapped a third man in the face and attempted to punch a fourth.

Sky News understands the alleged offences took place inside the hotel between 25 July and 12 August.

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District judge Lynette Woodrow remanded Sharwarq, who was assisted in court by an Arabic interpreter, in custody until his trial on 30 September.

The arrest followed weeks of protests outside the hotel.

Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping Forest, said last month that the protests were a crisis that “risks boiling over”.

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