Branson given platform to have say in rail row

The Virgin boss and multi-millionaire reacted with fury at the decision of Ministers to award the franchise to FirstGroup and has warned the current system of awarding rail contracts is flawed.

He will appear alongside Tim O’Toole, of FirstGroup, in front of the Transport Select Committee this afternoon.

Ministers were expected to sign the franchise deal with FirstGroup several days ago, but it has been put on hold after Virgin launched a legal challenge to the agreement.

Meanwhile a sacked Tory Minister has criticised the Government’s support for the high-speed rail project, which she described as a “terrible idea”.

Former Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan, a known opponent of the project, was replaced last week by David Jones and used her departure as a chance to ramp up pressure on the Government over the scheme which is estimated to be worth billions to the economies of the North.

The first stage of the HS2 project is set to link Birmingham to London by 2026, passing through Ms Gillan’s Buckinghamshire constituency, with the spurs onward to Yorkshire and the North West due to be completed by 2032.

She said: “This is not a Conservative project. First of all it is very destructive of the environment and secondly it’s not good value for money. The cost-benefit ratios have been moving out over the past two-and-a-half years since Labour announced this project.

“Quite frankly, this is so far in the middle distance that it is not going to affect the economic conditions we have now. We need a plan now for infrastructure, things like electrification of the main line down to Cardiff and the Valleys line.”