Rishi Sunak is facing a huge backlash from senior Tories and business leaders amid signs he is ready to scrap the northern section of the HS2 high speed rail line before the Conservative conference opens in Manchester next weekend.
Several sources told the Observer on Saturday that a meeting was scheduled to take place involving the prime minister and the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, on Monday or on Tuesday, with a decision to be announced by Sunak by the middle of this week.
