Good evening. Construction of a major part of HS2 will be delayed by two years, the transport secretary has announced. In this newsletter, we also have the latest weather news as warnings for snow and ice were extended into the weekend.
HS2 extension to Euston is paused
In a statement to parliament today, Mark Harper revealed that the government would pause the construction of its planned Euston station development, as it looked to come up with an affordable design for the £2bn station project. It was also revealed that the leg of the line between Birmingham and Crewe would be delayed by two years, while there was no mention of timelines for the construction of the line to Manchester. Jack Simpson reports that cost-saving measures to HS2 were announced as part of widescale cuts by the Department for Transport to planned infrastructure schemes across its portfolio.
Gary Lineker ‘will be back on screen’ and claims BBC stand-off is over
Gary Lineker has claimed that his stand-off with the BBC is at an end and he will be back presenting Match Of The Day this Saturday. The presenter suggested that the matter – which was sparked by his comment comparing the language used to launch the Government’s immigration policy to that of Nazi Germany – has been resolved after an “interesting couple of days”. However, in defiance of BBC guidelines, he also continued to tweet criticism of the Government. The news came after BBC sources earlier denied a report that the matter was finished and that bosses had decided to let the presenter off the hook. Anita Singh and Michael Murphy have the latest on the story here.
Sunak 'buzzing' as Australia set to choose British design in submarine deal
Australia will buy British-designed nuclear-powered submarines under the terms of a long-term deal which is due to be unveiled in the United States next week, multiple sources have suggested. Roger Maynard reports that the decision represents a major victory for Britain in negotiations over the multi-billion pound deal, and has reportedly delighted Rishi Sunak. “The deal has definitely gone our way. The prime minister was buzzing about it when he told ministers, smiling and bouncing on the balls of his feet,” one UK minister said. You can read the full story here.
Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines
Weather | Yellow warnings for snow and ice have been extended into the weekend by the Met Office. The warnings are in place for northern England and much of Scotland.
- Mystic Meg | TV and newspaper astrologer dies aged 80
- Gender equality | Women’s rights have gone ‘too far’, say majority of Gen Z and millennials, study shows
- Lancashire | Self-styled TikTok sleuth arrested for filming Nicola Bulley’s body being pulled out of river
- Southampton | Channel migrant stabbed student because he wanted to be deported from Britain
Comment and analysis
- Karol Sikora | The lockdown mob called me a killer – but the NHS backlogs they caused are killing thousands
- Con Coughlin | Iran is gearing up to attack Britain and the West
- Christopher Howse | Lilibet’s title as Princess serves as a reminder of the Royal rules
- Ben Marlow | Good riddance to a bland and bloated industry that ruined our high streets
- Lewis Page | Putin is running out of time to win the ammunition war
World news: Japan boosts military spending
Japan is bracing itself for conflict. Although the mandarins of Kasumigaseki, the ministry district in the heart of Tokyo, will never say it out loud, pacifism is all but over - 80 years after being written into the constitution, writes Julian Ryall.
Interview of the day
Kathleen Stock: ‘Young women would rather change gender than say they are lesbian’
After losing her job over the trans war, the professor of philosophy – along with Martina Navratilova – wants the word reclaimed
Sport news: Owen Farrell dropped to the bench
Marcus Smith has been entrusted with the fly-half duties for England's Six Nations clash with France after Steve Borthwick made the bombshell decision to drop captain Owen Farrell. Charlie Morgan writes that Borthwick has finally given Smith the tools to deliver for England.
Editor's choice
Maps | The GeoGuessr addicts who can guess a random location in 0.01s - and how you can too
Travel | How to have the perfect holiday in Tuscany
Fashion | The cold hard truth of whether you’re better-looking bald
Business news: State pension age increase will delay retirement for 8.5 million workers
Almost nine million workers will be forced to wait longer for their state pension if the Government increases the retirement age to 68 in the mid-2030s. The state pension age is legislated to rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046, but ministers are considering plans to accelerate this.
Tonight starts now
Plan a visit to Ireland’s ‘most beautiful beach’ which was Insta-famous before its film debut | Achill brims with mysterious stories, and its windswept, Oscar-worthy landscapes are well worth exploring.
Three things for you
- TV | Cold Case Detectives, ITV1, 9pm
- Review | Mae Muller’s I Wrote A Song is the precision-tooled Eurovision pop banger the UK needs
- Health | What it’s really like to use the ‘miracle’ weight-loss jab
And finally... for this evening's downtime
William Sitwell reviews Tozi Grand Cafe, London: ‘Then came the most grotesque dish of 2023’ | The first two dishes were exemplary – and then came the raw Sicilian prawns...
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