Demands to make report on HS2 public
Demands are being made for a suppressed damning report into HS2 to be made public by leading politicians in Staffordshire.
George Adamson, leader of Cannock Chase District Council, is calling on Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to publish a report that the government has refused to release.
It is believed the document raises major concerns over the costs and delivery of the proposed £50 billion scheme.
Mr Adamson, in his role as a Staffordshire County Councillor, is asking his colleagues to support a motion to apply pressure on Mr McLoughlin, who is a former Cannock miner and ex-Staffordshire councillor.
Deployed
The government used a rare veto to block the publication of the report from the Major Projects Authority. The last time such the veto was deployed was to stop Iraq war documents being published.
Mr Adamson said: "How can we make a proper judgment on whether HS2 is right for this country or not if we are not allowed to have the full facts.
"Patrick McLoughlin is a Staffordshire lad and he is letting us down by preventing us from having the truth."
Mr Adamson is hoping fellow councillors will support his calls on Thursday when a vote on the motion will take place.
The Information Commissioner had ordered the government to release the document following a request under the Freedom of Information Act. But the Cabinet is able to block publication in exceptional circumstances.
A Government spokesman added: "We have already published project-level data in our annual report of major projects and have no plans to go further."
