Cheryl Gillan calls for review into HS2 business case

He admitted that mistakes had been made by his department in giving the company the line, which runs between London, the West Midlands, the North West, Wales and Scotland.

Two reviews into the issue have been ordered and it is thought that the errors will cost the government £40m.

Mrs Gillan now says that the news should prompt the government to look again into HS2 business case.

She wrote: "Am asking DfT for immediate review of HS2 business case in the light of significant technical flaws in WCML franchise competition."

Mrs Gillan has now followed this Twitter message by calling for a "root and branch re-examination of the whole of the HS2 project and its viability."

In the case of the West Coast Main Line contract, the Department has revoked the decision based on errors in the way which inflation and passenger numbers have been worked out.

Mrs Gillan said: " This will undoubtedly have had an effect on the HS2 project business case which is based on similar passenger numbers and assumptions.

"The Department has also, to date, failed to take on board the complete lack of confidence people now have in the process being used for progressing HS2 and many of its experts in my constituency and beyond have been pointing to significant technical flaws in passenger number assumptions, engineering calculations, environmental approaches, as well as the mistakes that have been made even in the simple collection and analysis of responses to consultations.

"In the light of these new developments and the approaching judicial reviews on HS2 I hope the Transport Secretary will now be able to conduct a root and branch re-examination of the whole HS2 project and its viability."