The disastrous HS2 scheme was delayed again yesterday, as a scathing report identified a 'litany' of failures and the rail line was labelled a '£100 billion white elephant'.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told MPs the gargantuan project was an 'appalling mess', with an audit revealing endemic overspending, hundreds of millions of pounds wasted and poor decision-making.
Ms Alexander said there was no hope of meeting the current completion target of 2033, without putting a deadline as to when it would eventually be finished.
Critics last night urged the Government to abandon HS2 altogether. The project has been a totem of waste in recent years, with taxpayer cash squandered on frivolities including a £100 million bat tunnel to protect local wildlife, and £20,000 for a Lego replica of Old Oak Station, the west London hub connecting HS2 with the Elizabeth Line.
Yesterday's 130-page report revealed yet more liberal spending, with £250 million blown on the cost of just two failed designs for a revamped Euston station.
