RAIL union RMT has called a government rail review a “political fix” after the business chief leading the report yesterday ruled out public ownership of the railways.

Union general secretary Mick Cash has criticised the comments of Keith Williams to a rail conference in London that his review will not consider renationalisation as an option.

Mr Williams, a former British Airways executive, was announced as the leader of the government’s rail review in September 2018.

The Department for Transport claimed the review was a “root and branch” investigation about improving the railways, and to learn the lessons of the crisis that engulfed northern and southern England last spring.

However, Mr Williams said at the conference that nationalisation of the railways would not be the answer, despite conceding that the majority of the population believe that rail companies prioritise profit over good services.

Mr Cash has said that the union will continue to fight for the nationalisation of the railways, adding: “Any review of the rail service that rules out the favoured option of 70 per cent of the British people is a political fix from top to bottom.

“By ruling out the public ownership model from the off-review, Keith Williams has confirmed exactly what RMT suspected – that this is an exercise in kicking the can down the road while papering over the cracks of an industry in crisis and buying one-man disaster area [Transport Secretary] Chris Grayling a bit of time.”