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The embattled highspeed rail project, HS2, will not reach its London terminus without private sector funding, Sky News understands.

Without substantial corporate investment there is no guarantee of the line ending in Euston – instead it would end at Old Oak Common in west London.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reallocated the public sector budget for a new extension to the station and a tunnel leading to it on transport links in other parts of the country.

In a speech scrapping the Manchester leg of the line, Sunak pledged investment for other areas of the North, including a Midlands Rail Hub to connect 50 stations and the Network North project to join up northern cities by rail.

Euston and its surrounds are already in the process of being redeveloped to make way for the line and for a new Euston station.

But HS2 work at Euston was paused earlier this year due to ballooning costs. Estimates grew to £4.8bn compared with an initial, 2019 projected spend of £2.6bn.

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PM’s speech: three key takeaways.

A new development company, separate from HS2 Ltd, will be appointed to manage the delivery of the Euston project, the Department for Transport said.

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“There is already support and interest from the private sector,” a government spokesperson said.

“Ministers have had discussions with key partners since the announcement and the transport secretary will be meeting with the Euston Partnership in the coming weeks.”

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Extending HS2 to Euston involves building 4.5 miles of underground tunnel from Old Oak Common and a six-platform station next to the existing Euston station. Initial plans were to build 11 platforms.

The government has again showed its support for the original plans.

Mr Sunak said the line from Birmingham to Euston will be completed, in his Conservative Party conference speech on Wednesday, and the government’s new plan for the central London station, including taking private investment, will generate “£6.5bn of savings”.

Officials at the Department for Transport believe the capacity of Old Oak Common as an HS2 start and end point can facilitate eight trains per hour, the same number as planned for Euston.

There are concerns, however, at the lack of options for onward journeys from Old Oak Common. Euston is connected to national rail and multiple tube lines.

Government modelling also showed two-thirds of people would prefer to travel to or from Euston.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

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Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

Australia to test CBDCs, stablecoins in next stage of crypto play

The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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