The government is facing criticism from politicians, industry groups and two former Conservative prime ministers over concerns it could decide to cancel the Northern link of the High Speed 2 (HS2) line.

The news was first reported by The Independent, which claimed the government had already spent £2.3bn on stage two of the high-speed railway, and was looking into the possibility of either scrapping its second stage to save up to £34bn or delaying the northern phase of HS2 by up to seven years. 

Sunak has refused to comment on the claims, stating that he remains “absolutely committed to levelling up and spreading opportunity around the country”. However, cabinet minister Grant Shapps told Sky News there could be a change to the “sequencing” and “pace” of HS2 due to the cost concerns.

“Money is not infinite,” Shapps said. “All of these big decisions where budgets are, particularly in the case of HS2, inexorably going higher and higher and higher, and your...