Railway’s minister Andrew Stephenson says move can be made in ‘exceptional circumstances’

Lorries and plant at risk of being targeted by anti-HS2 protestors will be allowed to remove logos or signs identifying them as working on the job, the minister in charge of the £100bn scheme has revealed.

Andrew Stephenson said vehicles over a certain size working on the railway are usually required to display a notice showing their involvement in the project.

hs2

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The scheme has been targeted by protestors who say the railway is causing too much damage to the environment

This usually involves an A4 size identifier, stating ‘HS2’ inside the cab windscreen of a wagon or piece of plant.

But Stephenson said: “In exceptional circumstances, HS2 Ltd can apply a derogation to this requirement, for example, when lorries and drivers are being specifically targeted by non-peaceful protesters.”

> Protest disruption cost HS2 enough to ‘build a primary school’

> Work on more than 10% of HS2 sites shut because of social distancing problems

Stephenson was responding to a written question to transport secretary Grant Shapps from Tory MP Cheryl Gillan, whose constituency Chesham and Amersham sits on the HS2 route.

Gillan wanted to know what steps Shapps was taking to make sure lorries and other construction plant were using prescribed routes to and from HS2 sites.

Last month, Building revealed that disruption to the railway’s construction programme caused by protestors had left HS2 with a bill large enough to have paid for a new primary school.

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