UNIONS slammed Rishi Sunak’s claims that £4.7 billion saved from scrapping the northern leg of HS2 will be put into a “transformational” local transport fund that can be used to fill potholes and refurbish bus stops.

The Prime Minister said that the funding would be earmarked for schemes in the north of England and the Midlands from April 2025 as he gathered his Cabinet in Yorkshire and the Humber.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The local transport fund is a gimmick designed to hide the fact that the Tories have totally failed railway passengers by scrapping HS2.