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Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
HS2 whistleblower sacked after warning of soaring costs
A whistleblower who was fired after accusing HS2 bosses of fraud after they ignored his warnings over the true cost of the project has won more than £300,000 in compensation. Stephen Cresswell, a risk management expert, lost his job working on the high-speed rail line after he repeatedly raised concerns that costs were being 'actively misrepresented'. The consultant was told by one HS2 executive to 'disregard' scenarios he had prepared which forecast a 'significant' increase in the cost of building the railway line, an employment tribunal in Croydon heard. In one case, a forecast construction cost was potentially £100 million larger than bosses wanted to admit, the tribunal heard. Mark Wild, HS2's chief executive, told MPs last month that the final cost of the London-to-Birmingham route could exceed £100 billion. After HS2 eventually admitted Mr Cresswell had attempted to blow the whistle on five separate occasions during 2021 and 2022 before being let go, he was awarded £319,070 in damages. 'In my opinion, HS2 is not an organisation that should be trusted with public money,' Mr Cresswell said after the employment tribunal's ruling on Monday. 'HS2 is destroying taxpayer value; a properly functioning administration would mothball the programme and undertake a full independent investigation,' he added. Contract terminated Mr Cresswell's contract was terminated on Sept 30 2022 after he tried to inform senior managers about what was going on. Tribunal judges heard that he first raised concerns about fraudulent under-estimation of costs in November 2021. Under-estimating costs would mean contractors could start construction works and then demand extra funding, over and above the planned budget, to complete them. Mr Cresswell had been hired in spring 2021 to estimate the costs of Phase 2 of HS2, which was intended to run between Birmingham and Crewe. This planned section of the line was eventually cancelled in October 2023 by Rishi Sunak, the then prime minister, because of its spiralling costs. Two years before that decision, however, Mr Cresswell was unsuccessfully trying to blow the whistle on fraudulent goings-on within HS2. In November 2021 he emailed senior colleagues with details of a number of potential scenarios that looked at what would happen if there was a change in 'inputs', meaning the price of materials, labour and other resources. Those colleagues were Paul Seller, Graham Ramsden, Georgina O'Reilly and Shah Ahmed, the hearing was told. 'In response, Paul Seller stated that two of the scenarios significantly increased the forecasted costs and should therefore be disregarded,' the tribunal said. '[Mr Cresswell] rejected this suggestion, since disregarding the two scenarios significantly increased the forecasted costs and would be actively misrepresenting the project in order to secure ongoing funding,' the tribunal said. Mr Seller, who has since left HS2, was a project controls director in charge of keeping costs down. Put in an 'uncomfortable position' The following March, he sent an email to Mr Seller and Mr Ramsden in which he said: 'I find myself in a very uncomfortable position, having a professional view of the Phase 2 [costs] forecast that is very different to the HS2 documented position. 'The implications of my viewpoint would be that the Phase 2 will very likely have costs outside the funding envelope, and that HS2 is outside its stated risk appetite position to 'only tolerate low levels of risk to the achievement of programme targets'. 'The cost ranges for planned works arising from this approach are massive. The largest is for cuttings and embankments which is showing a potential saving of up to £209million and a potential cost increase of up to £348million – a range of £557million. 'In contrast the largest maximum exposure in the register is £235million and the majority of the risk items have a maximum exposure of less than £50million. 'I appreciate there are reasons for this incongruence, including but not limited to, different individuals being responsible for risk, opportunity and cost uncertainty and the compressed timescales for the analysis; however having such a massive range left without investigation is not defendable.' Suggested cost savings of 30 per cent were, he said, 'implausible'. As a result of his comments HS2 did not consider Mr Cresswell for two consultancy job vacancies in July 2022, the tribunal heard. It then terminated his contract with effect from the end of September that year. In the same month he forwarded a memo detailing his fears to Alan Foster, HS2's chief financial officer, judges heard. After losing his job, Mr Cresswell claimed he had been denied other work as a result of blowing the whistle on the company. The project to build a high speed line between London, the Midlands and the North was first announced in 2010 by Philip Hammond, the then transport secretary. Ever since then it has been beset by controversies, including the construction of a £100million tunnel to protect bats – even though experts have suggested that it will not work.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
King set to back Euston redevelopment despite HS2 struggles
The King's property company is in talks to buy a slice of the struggling £5.5bn development over London's Euston station, in a vote of confidence in the project. The Crown Estate is drawing up a deal with Australian development giant Lendlease for a 50pc stake in six major British projects – the joint venture's sites are expected to be worth a combined £22bn once fully developed. The partnership would aim to attract more investment to the projects. The deal includes the redevelopment of the area around Euston station, where more than 6m sq ft of science and innovation space, offices and homes are planned. The King's seal of approval would be good news for Rachel Reeves, who has pledged to 'turbocharge' investment into projects in Britain. Ministers have been on a drive to attract overseas money to the Euston scheme. Development plans stalled two years ago when the previous Conservative government claimed HS2 would end in Old Oak Common unless private investors rode to the rescue with cash to regenerate the area. Construction of the redevelopment's accompanying HS2 station and tunnels has been long beset by delays, with costs soaring to more than £7.5bn, which has been putting investors off. Locals have complained that the Euston area has been blighted since the first clearance work for HS2 kicked off in 2018, while it emerged this week that the troubled London-Birmingham route has been pushed back by up to six years and may now not be completed before 2039. Meanwhile, Mark Wild, the rail project's chief executive, said in a report to ministers that the cost of completing HS2 has soared to £81bn in 2019 prices, according to Rail magazine – which would be more like £102bn after adjusting for inflation. Property tycoon Michael Gross also warned last month that the taxpayer risked footing a multibillion-pound bill to turn Euston station into a HS2 terminus, warning there is 'no chance whatsoever of raising that money privately'. The Euston redevelopment has also been mired in uncertainty since Lendlease set out plans to exit the UK last year. The company, which is listed in Australia, is partway through a restructuring. It faced considerable pressure from shareholders last year to improve its trading performance by overhauling its operations, including its activities in the UK. The company said in a trading update that talks with the Crown Estate to establish a 50-50 joint venture, first reported by property news website Green Street News, are in the 'late stages'. The deal would herald The Crown Estate's first foray into construction projects focusing on regeneration on brownfield sites. One of Britain's biggest landowners, the estate manages the seabed and much of the coastline around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In recent years, it has made huge profits from renting out the seabed to wind farms. It also owns Ascot racecourse, 200,000 acres of prime farmland and swathes of central London, including Regent Street and St James's. The development portfolio also includes the £1.9bn, 42-acre Smithfield Market redevelopment in Birmingham, slated to turn the city's former markets into more than 3,000 homes, as well as shops and offices, and the £4.9bn Silvertown Quays development within London's Royal Docks. The estate, which manages King Charles's landholdings on behalf of taxpayers, would also have a stake in the £8bn Thamesmead Waterside development, a 250-acre site in south-east London slated for 11,500 homes; a £1bn, 2,500-home scheme called High Road West, opposite Tottenham Hotspurs's stadium; and the Stratford Cross redevelopment in East London's 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games district. The projects will collectively create more than 25,000 homes and over 9m sq ft of commercial space. Dan Labbad, the chief executive of the King's £16bn property portfolio, will be familiar with the projects in question, having previously worked at Lendlease as chief executive of its European business. A spokesman for The Crown Estate said: 'We do not comment on market speculation.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
HS2 delayed again despite scrapping of Northern leg
HS2 has been delayed again despite its northern leg being scrapped. The London-Birmingham route has been pushed back by up to six years and may now not be completed before 2039. It is also set to cost taxpayers more than £100 billion, the project's chief executive has told ministers. In a report completed shortly after he was appointed HS2's chief executive last December, Mr Wild also indicated that the project will not be completed until between 2036 and 2039. Mark Wild said in a report to the Department for Transport (DfT) that the cost of completing HS2 has soared to £81 billion in 2019 prices, Rail magazine reported. Adjusting for inflation, the cost today is now likely to be more than £102 billion – which is more than twice the DfT's annual budget of about £40 billion. An HS2 source stressed the report was a piece of 'preliminary work' carried out at an 'early stage'. The previous Conservative government scrapped HS2's planned northern legs, to Manchester and Leeds, to save money. In March HS2 was estimated to cost more than £80 billion but that number has now grown again. Mr Wild said earlier this year that HS2 had been ' a drip feed of bad news ' but he was dedicating the next 18 months to getting the project's costs under control. 'It'll take a reasonable amount of time, but once it's done, you'd expect it would hold all the way to when we open the railway between Old Oak Common and Curzon Street,' he told the press. Rail insiders have derisively referred to HS2 as the 'Acton-to-Aston line', suggesting it serves remote suburbs instead of the hearts of the cities it runs between. Although the Government has pledged to build a connecting tunnel between west London's Old Oak Common station and the heart of the capital, no funds have been pledged towards the necessary rebuilding of Euston. Ministers hope the private sector will contribute the £6 billion needed for rebuilding Euston, although the former owner of the sites earmarked for expansion said in April that the taxpayer could end up on the hook for that bill as well. A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said: 'Mark Wild, our chief executive, has been clear that HS2 faces serious cost and schedule challenges. He is now undertaking a comprehensive review which will report to government in due course and lead to a full reset of the company and project. 'This work is yet to be concluded and, given the scale and complexity of HS2, it is vital that Mark is given the time to carry it out properly.'
Scottish Sun
08-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
New UK train station to be first of it's kind in 130 years gets green light for upgraded plans as works set to start this year
REVISED plans for a major new high-speed train station in the UK have been given the green light. Birmingham's Curzon Street Station is set to open as part of the HS2 rail network and will be the first mainline terminus to be built since London Marylebone in 1899. Advertisement 4 Revised plans for Curzon Street Station have been approved Credit: 4 Customers will be able to travel from the station to London in 49 minutes Credit: : 4 Work on the station is set to begin this year Credit: The new £460 million build will have seven platforms and a curved roof, inspired by Victorian station designs. It will also have four public spaces outside, featuring gardens and a promenade. Revised plans included a change in material for the station roof - from timber to aluminium - due to updated fire regulations. The eastern concourse of the vast station had also been re-planned. Advertisement Read more HS2 stories RAIL PAIN Our village is split by monstrous HS2 tunnel - we can't wait to sell our homes Councillor Gareth Moore said: "HS2 offers tremendous benefits to Birmingham which we, as a city, should very much welcome. 'To unlock those benefits, we need a station so this application is crucial.' Plans for the build include a 'Station Square,' kitted out with a green space, while Curzon Square will provide an area for outdoor events. The station will also feature Curzon Promenade - a cycle and walking paths that links the station to the Eastside City Park while Paternoster Place will have paths and "urban space". Advertisement Trains are not expected to run from the station until the mid 2030s, but tours of the current construction may be allowed sooner. The final build is designed to be completely net zero and will run trains that get to central London in just 49 minutes. Huddersfield Station Closure: £70 Million Revamp Set to Transform Travel The new station has been pitched by officials as a "world class 21st century landmark building'. And council docs say it will contribute to 'maximising the regeneration and development potential' of HS2 in Birmingham. Advertisement Construction work for the foundations of the station began in January 2024, with the station itself set to begin being built this year. The station is set to be finished by 2028 but a "reset" of the HS2 programme has led to delays. HS2 CEO Mark Wild said recently: 'This is of a scale never done before – the last mainline terminus we built was 1899 in Marylebone. 'Truth is also the construction has been harder than we would have thought so we've lost ground in construction. Advertisement 'So a combination of factors of getting a little bit behind and also the complexity to come means we need to reset the programme.' What is HS2? HS2, which stands for High Speed 2, is a project that aims to create a high-speed rail network between London and major cities in the Midlands and Northern England. It is the biggest rail investment ever made in the North of England and is Europe's largest infrastructure project. New trains will run on HS2 lines with a top speed of 225 miles per hour - the aim is to cut journey times and make it easier to travel across England. Last year, then-PM Rishi Sunak decided to scrap the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the line. It is now hoped that the train will run to Euston despite dears this route would also be scrapped. Another huge HS2 station Old Oak Common, is set to open in 2029 in West London. The station is set to cost £2 billion and will be the 'most connected in the country'. 4
The Irish Sun
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
New UK train station to be first of it's kind in 130 years gets green light for upgraded plans as works set to start this year
REVISED plans for a major new high-speed train station in the UK have been given the green light. Birmingham's set to open as part of the rail network and will be the first mainline terminus to be built since London Marylebone in 1899. 4 Revised plans for Curzon Street Station have been approved Credit: 4 Customers will be able to travel from the station to London in 49 minutes Credit: : 4 Work on the station is set to begin this year Credit: The new £460 million build will have seven platforms and a curved roof, inspired by Victorian station designs. It will also have four public spaces outside, featuring gardens and a promenade. Revised plans included a change in material for the station roof - from timber to aluminium - due to updated fire regulations. The eastern concourse of the vast station had also been re-planned. Read more HS2 stories Councillor Gareth Moore said: "HS2 offers tremendous benefits to Birmingham which we, as a city, should very much welcome. 'To unlock those benefits, we need a station so this application is crucial.' Plans for the build include a 'Station Square,' kitted out with a green space, while Curzon Square will provide an area for outdoor events. The station will also feature Curzon Promenade - a cycle and walking paths that links the station to the Eastside City Park while Paternoster Place will have paths and "urban space". Most read in News Travel Trains are not expected to run from the station until the mid 2030s, but tours of the current construction may be allowed sooner. The final build is designed to be completely net zero and will run trains that get to central London in just 49 minutes. Huddersfield Station Closure: £70 Million Revamp Set to Transform Travel The new station has been pitched by officials as a "world class 21st century landmark building'. And council docs say it will contribute to 'maximising the regeneration and development potential' of HS2 in Birmingham. Construction work for the foundations of the station began in January 2024, with the station itself set to begin being built this year. The station is set to be finished by 2028 but a "reset" of the HS2 programme has led to delays. HS2 CEO Mark Wild said recently: 'This is of a scale never done before – the last mainline terminus we built was 1899 in Marylebone. 'Truth is also the construction has been harder than we would have thought so we've lost ground in construction. 'So a combination of factors of getting a little bit behind and also the complexity to come means we need to reset the programme.' What is HS2? HS2, which stands for High Speed 2, is a project that aims to create a high-speed rail network between London and major cities in the Midlands and Northern England. It is the biggest rail investment ever made in the North of England and is Europe's largest infrastructure project. New trains will run on HS2 lines with a top speed of 225 miles per hour - the aim is to cut journey times and make it easier to travel across England. Last year, then-PM It is now hoped that the train will run to Euston despite dears this route would also be scrapped. Another huge HS2 station The station is set to cost £2 billion and will be the 'most connected in the country'. 4
