A scan of the newspapers over the bank holiday weekend provided a pretty damning assessment of HS2’s future – most of the national press seems to have it in for the £56bn scheme, slamming it for spiralling costs and congratulating prime minister Johnson for his “fresh thinking” in launching his “go or no-go” review.

And for those who support what would be largest infrastructure scheme in Europe, the bad news stories just keep coming. The Daily Mail revealed that it understands investigators are looking into allegations of corruption in the way some contracts may have been awarded to suppliers, while the Telegraph reported electricity bills may rise to pay for works on the UK’s energy network for HS2. And then the BBC shared leaked documents proving the government knew the budget was unrealistic three years ago, before MPs signed off the first phase of the project connecting London to Birmingham.

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