A THINK TANK report which is deeply critical of the plans for HS2 has been dubbed 'massively misleading' by supporters of the scheme to build a High Speed line from London to Birmingham and the north of England.
The government is currently consulting on the proposal, which could see the first section opened between London and Birmingham by 2026.
The Institute of Economic Affairs, which is also urging fresh cuts to public spending amounting to more than £200 billion, has condemned HS2 as a 'vanity project', and claims that it is 'economically flawed'.
Dr Richard Wellings of the IEA, who helped to write the report, said: “High Speed 2 is another political vanity project – like Concorde and the Millennium Dome – being ploughed ahead with with complete disregard for properly thought-through commercial prospects."
But his views have been swiftly rebutted by pro-HS2 campaigners.
Professor David Begg, director of the Campaign for High Speed Rail, said: "I am hugely disappointed and shocked by the IEA’s analysis of High Speed rail. This is a weak regurgitation of weak research carried out by the Taxpayers’ Alliance in February, which has not stood up to public or industry scrutiny since.
"Just like them, the IEA declare that the scheme will cost £1,000 per taxpayer. This is grossly disingenuous, as it fails to account for fare revenues, private investment and generated taxation that will offset the public investment.
"The IEA have completely failed to grasp the wider benefits of the high-speed rail project, which will create jobs, boost investment and spread the economic wealth of this country to places outside the heartlands of London and the south east.
"I would expect better from an otherwise reputable think tank than to parrot misinformation and repackage the propaganda of opponents to the project, who are clearly motivated by a mixture of small-state ideology and ‘not-in-my-back-yard’ attitudes."