Paperchase: Tesco buys stationery brand but not its shops - BBC

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By Daniel Thomas & Emma Simpson

BBC News

Tesco has bought the brand and intellectual property of High Street stationery chain Paperchase, hours after it fell into administration.

But the grocer has not acquired the chain's 106 shops in the UK and Ireland, leaving the future of 820 staff in doubt.

Paperchase's administrators, Begbies Traynor, said 75 workers at its head office have been made redundant.

All stores will remain open for now with two weeks to redeem gift cards.

Tesco will now sell the stationer's goods in its stores across the UK.

It follows a challenging few years for Paperchase which has been hit recently by rising costs and falling sales.

The business also has stores in train stations, which have suffered from reduced footfall due to more people now working from home.

• Struggling Paperchase lines up administrators
• More than 2,000 roles set to go at Tesco

Jan Marchant, managing director of home and clothing at Tesco, said: "Paperchase is a well-loved brand by so many, and we're proud to bring it to Tesco stores across the UK.

"We have been building our plans to bring more brands and inspiration to the ranges we currently offer, and this will help us to take those plans further."

Several weeks ago, Paperchase said it had put itself up for sale and that a number of buyers were interested in the business.

But earlier on Tuesday it appointed administrators after receiving "no viable offers" for the company or its assets.

Paperchase, which was founded in 1968, went through a form of insolvency proceedings four years ago to cut stores and reduce costs.

It was then bought out of administration in 2021 during the pandemic in a rescue deal which saw the loss of around 500 jobs.

But Paperchase was then sold again in August last year to a private investment firm led by the retail investor Steve Curtis.

Tesco job cuts

In a separate announcement on Tuesday, Tesco said more than 2,000 roles were set to go across its business as it announced more changes to the way it runs its shops.

The grocer plans to cut 1,750 team manager positions across hundreds of its larger stores, and introduce a new tier of shift leader roles to run its shop floor operations.

The 1,800 new posts will be lower paid, but team managers who take the jobs will have their pay protected for two years.

Tesco also plans a further 350 job cuts as it closes eight pharmacies, moves overnight roles to daytime in 12 stores, reduces hours within some post offices and closes back office positions.

The grocer is also closing all its remaining counters and hot delis due to a lack of demand, but all staff affected will be offered alternative roles.

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2023-01-31 18:17:39Z
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Tesco: More than 2,000 jobs set to go due to store changes - BBC

Getty Images

By Emma Simpson & Daniel Thomas

BBC News

More than 2,000 roles are at risk at Tesco as it announces more changes to the way it runs its supermarkets.

The grocer said it was planning to cut 1,750 team manager posts across hundreds of its larger stores, while closing roles elsewhere.

A new tier of 1,800 lower paid shift leader positions will take over running its shop floors.

Tesco also announced it will close its counters and hot delis, with staff offered alternative jobs elsewhere.

Britain's largest supermarket said the axing of its counter and delis from 26 February were due to lack of demand from customers. It is also closing eight pharmacies, moving overnight roles to daytime in 12 stores and reducing hours within some post offices.

The company said team managers who take new shift leader positions will have their pay protected for two years.

Similar changes have already happened at Tesco's smaller stores, but the grocer is now implementing them at its larger superstores and Tesco Extra shops.

Daniel Adams, national officer of the Usdaw union, which represents Tesco workers, said the announcement would be "especially difficult" for staff in the midst of the rising cost of living.

"We will be doing all we can to support members throughout the process with a view to protecting jobs and, where this is not possible, securing the best possible deal for those affected," he said.

• Shoppers turn to own-label lines to save money

Jason Tarry, Tesco's UK and Ireland boss, said the decisions were "difficult", but added they were "necessary to ensure we remain focused on delivering value for our customers wherever we can, as well as ensuring our store offer reflects what our customers value the most".

"Our priority is to support those colleagues impacted and help find alternative roles within our business from the vacancies and newly created roles we have available," he said.

Alongside the planned team manager cuts, a further 350 jobs are at risk in a series of other changes at the company.

It is also cutting some jobs at its head office as well as closing its Maintenance National Operating Centre in Milton Keynes.

Tesco said it was now entering a consultation period with the Usdaw union on the proposals and pointed out that it currently has about 2,000 vacancies across the business.

Bigger supermarkets are having to become more efficient and make savings as they face competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Last week, Asda, Britain's third largest grocer, said it planned to remove 211 night shift managers and change the hours of 4,137 workers.

It followed similar changes to night time working at Sainsbury's and Tesco.

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2023-01-31 13:27:14Z
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JD Sports says 10 million customers hit by cyber-attack - BBC

Getty Images

By Michael Race

Business reporter, BBC News

Sportswear chain JD Sports has said stored data relating to 10 million customers might be at risk after it was hit by a cyber-attack.

The company said information that "may have been accessed" by hackers included names, addresses, email accounts, phone numbers, order details and the final four digits of bank cards.

The data related to online orders between November 2018 and October 2020.

JD Sports said it was contacting affected customers.

The group said the affected data was "limited". It added it did not hold full payment card details and did not believe that account passwords were accessed by the hackers.

"We want to apologise to those customers who may have been affected by this incident," said Neil Greenhalgh, chief financial officer of JD Sports. "Protecting the data of our customers is an absolute priority for JD."

The attack related to online orders placed for the JD, Size?, Millets, Blacks, Scotts and MilletSport brands and it is understood it was detected by the company in recent days, but only the historical data was accessed.

The company said it was working with "leading cyber-security experts" and was engaging with the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in response to the incident.

Mr Greenhalgh said affected customers were being advised "to be vigilant about potential scam e-mails, calls and texts".

Cyber-attacks have hit several UK companies in recent times. Royal Mail became the victim of a ransomware attack earlier this month which led to it halting post and parcel deliveries overseas.

In December, the Guardian newspaper was also targeted by a suspected ransomware attack.

Lauren Wills-Dixon, solicitor and an expert in data privacy at law firm Gordons, said retailers were among the most common targets for cyber-attacks because of the large amounts of customer data they hold, and said firms needed to do more to plan for them.

But she said the increased use of technology by the industry "to reduce overheads and streamline operations has raised the risk even further".

"In this new world, it's not 'if' but 'when' a cyber-attack will happen," she said.

A spokeswoman for the ICO confirmed it was aware of the attack and that it was assessing information provided by JD Sports.

Scott Nicholson, co-chief executive of cyber security company Bridewell, said it was seeing a rise in malicious software, known as "malware" being used by criminals to steal information from companies.

"It is good to see JD Sports stating that they are working with experts to help from a containment and recovery perspective, but once the dust has settled their comments of 'we take the protection of customer data extremely seriously' will be put to the test by the ICO," he added.

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2023-01-30 13:43:38Z
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Live news: Renault and Nissan shake-up alliance - Financial Times

Can we afford to be more optimistic about the future? The next seven days are beginning more positively for global geopolitics with a visit by Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg to South Korea and Japan.

He will travel from Seoul to Tokyo on Monday to reinforce the transatlantic security alliance’s ties with its key partners in Asia. The meetings, which follow Japan and South Korea’s involvement for the first time in European Nato summits, demonstrate the alliance’s support for these countries in the face of security challenges posed by China and North Korea.

The war in Ukraine will be high on the agenda, with Tokyo and Seoul likely to confirm the release of additional non-lethal equipment for Kyiv.

A schoolgirl stands next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad © Amit Dave/Reuters

On the flip side, this week will also provide reminders of the continued and very real challenge posed by populism and nationalists. India commemorates Martyrs’ Day on Monday on the 75th anniversary of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi. As writer Ramachandra Guha notes in his FT Weekend essay, veneration of the anti-colonial revolutionary has waned as Hindu nationalism has surged.

In the US, the figure of former president Donald Trump will loom large again as his adviser Peter Navarro is set to go on trial on Monday for his failure to comply with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol.

In the UK it is yet another week of strikes, beginning on Monday with driving instructors at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. The biggest day of action will come on Wednesday when schoolteachers, train drivers and university lecturers down tools while the TUC trades union body stages a Protect the Right to Strike Day in opposition to a contentious government bill to curb industrial action on essential services.

Economic data

The rate-setting schedules have aligned again for the monetary policy committees of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

The ECB is expected to stick with extra-large rate rises while the Fed downshifts, having signalled it would end its pace of 0.75 percentage point increases in December.

The Bank of England is expected to push through a 0.5 percentage point increase, owing to the stubborn persistence of high inflation, strong wage growth and the unexpected resilience of the UK economy.

Companies

Big Tech companies, including Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, Meta and Spotify, issue quarterly earnings © Mike Segar/Reuters

We are in the thick of earnings season and this week is peak Big Tech with quarterly figures from Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, Meta and Spotify. It has been a sobering time for the sector, not least the admission that they massively over hired during the Zoom years of the pandemic.

Apple will be notable given that it is expected to break a 14-quarter growth streak in the lucrative December period owing to a shortage of high-end iPhones. A November outbreak of Covid-19 in the Zhengzhou factory (known locally as iPhone city) is to blame, creating a handset shortage of somewhere between 5mn and 10mn units.

At about $1,000 a pop, this works out at a $10bn hiccup, and is not good news for Apple given its handset war with Google. Revenue in this quarter in 2021 was a nudge under $124bn; forecasts are slightly lower for 2022 but the hit to net profit could be greater.

Read the full week ahead calendar here.

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2023-01-30 08:05:56Z
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Flybe: What are passengers' rights when flights are cancelled by a bankrupt airline? - Sky News

After Flybe went into administration on Saturday, many travellers will be out of pocket having bought tickets, while others are stranded in their outbound destination.

Flybe has told its passengers to "not travel to the airport" unless they have arranged alternative flights with another airline.

What are passengers' rights if your flight is cancelled?

Flybe going into administration is a different situation to when an airline that still operates cancels flights.

Given the company is unable to trade anymore, the cancelled flights will not be rescheduled nor can passengers be rebooked onto other airlines.

Aviation analyst Alex Macheras told Sky News: "While the UK government has stepped in before when larger airlines or travel groups go bust, this will not be the case for Flybe 2.0.

"As Flybe mostly sell 'flight only' bookings, travel is not ATOL protected, which means refunds from the company itself will not be provided.

"Anyone with bookings will have to rely on a refund from their credit card or debit card provider, or by claiming from travel insurance."

He added that if a passenger booked their flights with a credit card and it was more than £100, they are protected under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

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Image: Flybe went into administration and cancelled all flights after 40 years of operation.

This consumer protection law stipulates the credit provider is equally liable if there is any issue with the purchase - including flights.

For flights that cost less than £100, section 75 does not apply and the card company wouldn't usually be liable.

Mr Macheras added: "This is why it's always best to book travel with a credit card.

"If a debit card was used, passengers can try claiming from the card provider under the chargeback system, but it's often a little more difficult and not a legal right compared with the credit card."

Some card providers will ask for a negative response letter confirming the position.

The negative response letter will be published shortly according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Mr Macheras said: "There's also potentially the safety net of travel insurance, as around half of all UK travel insurance policies have scheduled airline failure cover (SAFI) as standard."

The CAA said: "If you did not book directly with Flybe and purchased your tickets through a third party, you should contact your booking or travel agent in the first instance."

It said if passengers went via airline ticket agents, they are the first point of call and "they may have provided travel insurance that includes SAFI [Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance] cover".

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2023-01-29 14:42:48Z
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Flybe: What are passengers' rights when flights are cancelled by a bankrupt airline? - Sky News

After Flybe went into administration on Saturday, many travellers will be out of pocket having bought tickets, while others are stranded in their outbound destination.

Flybe has told its passengers to "not travel to the airport" unless they have arranged alternative flights with another airline.

What are passengers' rights if your flight is cancelled?

Flybe going into administration is a different situation to when an airline that still operates cancels flights.

Given the company is unable to trade anymore, the cancelled flights will not be rescheduled nor can passengers be rebooked onto other airlines.

Aviation analyst Alex Macheras told Sky News: "While the UK government has stepped in before when larger airlines or travel groups go bust, this will not be the case for Flybe 2.0.

"As Flybe mostly sell 'flight only' bookings, travel is not ATOL protected, which means refunds from the company itself will not be provided.

"Anyone with bookings will have to rely on a refund from their credit card or debit card provider, or by claiming from travel insurance."

He added that if a passenger booked their flights with a credit card and it was more than £100, they are protected under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

Advertisement

Image: Flybe went into administration and cancelled all flights after 40 years of operation.

This consumer protection law stipulates the credit provider is equally liable if there is any issue with the purchase - including flights.

For flights that cost less than £100, section 75 does not apply and the card company wouldn't usually be liable.

Mr Macheras added: "This is why it's always best to book travel with a credit card.

"If a debit card was used, passengers can try claiming from the card provider under the chargeback system, but it's often a little more difficult and not a legal right compared with the credit card."

Some card providers will ask for a negative response letter confirming the position.

The negative response letter will be published shortly according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Mr Macheras said: "There's also potentially the safety net of travel insurance, as around half of all UK travel insurance policies have scheduled airline failure cover (SAFI) as standard."

The CAA said: "If you did not book directly with Flybe and purchased your tickets through a third party, you should contact your booking or travel agent in the first instance."

It said if passengers went via airline ticket agents, they are the first point of call and "they may have provided travel insurance that includes SAFI [Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance] cover".

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2023-01-29 13:13:10Z
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Flybe collapse: Newquay Airport announces alternative flights to and from Cornwall - Cornwall Live

Cornwall Airport Newquay has confirmed that alternative routes between Cornwall, London and Manchester are available - despite all Flybe flights being cancelled. Flybe, which announced it had ceased trading on Saturday, had routes to London and Manchester from Newquay

It is now in administration. Flybe customers are urged to make contact with their card issuers after the airline's second descent into financial peril since 2019.

Cornwall Airport Newquay has issued a statement expressing its sadness at the shock news. It adds: "All Flybe flights to and from Newquay have been cancelled with immediate effect. We will share the full CAA customer advice when we get it. All other flights are unaffected and operating as normal."

Read more: Flybe refund advice for cancelled flights issued by UK Civil Aviation Authority

The airport says alternatives travel routes are available with other airlines. "Alternative travel to London is available with Eastern Airways on their London Gatwick service or with Ryanair to London Stansted from 26 March.

"Alternative flights will be available to Manchester with Loganair from 10 Feb and easyJet from 26 March.

Regional carrier Flybe was based at Exeter Airport until its collapse in 2019. It has been based at Birmingham Airport since its relaunch last year. Flybe was bought out of administration in 2021.

A message posted to the Flybe website homepage reads: "On 28 January 2023, the High Court appointed David Pike and Mike Pink as Joint Administrators of Flybe Limited (“Flybe”).

"Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled." Those with booked Flybe flights should not to travel to airports.

Cornwall Council's economy leader and Newquay councillor Louis Gardner said the authority had to look to other airlines to expand services. He said: "We were hoping Flybe was to increase operations but that's obviously not going to be the case now. "We have nine other carriers flying 18 routes and we'll look to expand with other airlines."

READ NEXT:

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2023-01-28 20:55:08Z
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UK regional airline Flybe ceases trading, cancels all flights - Reuters

• Summary
• Companies

• Collapses for second time in three years
• 276 workers made redundant by administrators
• About 75,000 customers had future bookings
• Hurt by delayed delivery of aircraft
• Rivals seeing rebounding demand

LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - British regional airline Flybe on Saturday ceased trading for the second time in three years, with all flights cancelled and 276 workers made redundant.

A statement on Flybe's website said the airline, which operated scheduled services from Belfast, Birmingham and Heathrow across the UK and to Amsterdam and Geneva, had entered administration, a form of protection from creditors.

"Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled," it said.

It advised people due to fly not to travel to airports.

A spokesperson for administrators Interpath Advisory said about 75,000 Flybe customers had future bookings that would now not be honoured.

Headquartered in Birmingham, Flybe operated flights on 21 routes to 17 destinations across the UK and Europe using a fleet of eight leased Q400 turboprop aircraft.

David Pike and Mike Pink from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to Flybe.

Pike said Flybe had struggled to withstand a number of shocks since its relaunch last year, not least the late delivery of 17 aircraft from lessors which severely compromised its efforts to build back capacity and remain competitive.

He said scaled-back elements of Flybe's operating platform would be preserved for a short period while there was a possibility of a rescue transaction. He encouraged any interested party to make contact urgently.

A spokesperson for Interpath said 45 members of Flybe's 321-strong workforce had been retained for the time being.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it would provide advice and information to affected passengers.

"It is always sad to see an airline enter administration and we know that Flybe's decision to stop trading will be distressing for all its employees and customers," said Paul Smith, the CAA's consumer director.

Hurt by Britain's COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Flybe first fell into administration in March 2020, impacting 2,400 jobs.

In October 2020, it was sold to Thyme Opco Ltd, a firm controlled by Cyrus Capital, and in April 2022 it resumed flights, albeit on a smaller scale.

Flybe's demise contrasts with a post-pandemic pick-up in demand for air travel.

Low cost airlines Ryanair (RYA.I), Europe's biggest airline, and Britain's easyJet (EZJ.L) have reported record bookings for summer holidays, in a sign that consumers are still keen on trips despite a looming recession.

Louise Haigh, the opposition Labour Party's transport spokesperson, said Flybe's collapse was "devastating news" for staff and customers.

"Protection for passengers is simply not strong enough – and ministers have sat on their hands for years and failed to introduce long-promised airline insolvency laws," she said.

The Unite trade union said the government had failed to learn lessons from Flybe's first collapse.

Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and James Davey in London, editing by William Mallard and Jason Neely

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2023-01-28 17:23:00Z
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Barclays announces closure of 15 high street branches - Yahoo Finance UK

Barclays has announced the closure of 15 branches across the country, meaning over 100 banks are slated to shut down so far this year.

The bank is set to close 14 branches across England and one in Wales from late April to the first few days on May.

Sites in London, Gosport, Bridgwater and St Helens are among those shutting down over just a few days.

Barclays has already announced 15 closures earlier this month and has been approached for comment..

It comes days after NatWest said it is closing 23 branches, and over a week since Lloyds Banking Group said it is shutting 40 Halifax and Lloyds sites.

The remains of a sign over a former branch of Barclays Bank, now closed, in Kew Gardens, south west London (Martin Keene/PA)

At the time the company blamed footfall, which has been rapidly decreasing since the onset of online banking and dropped further during the pandemic.

Lloyds said the number of customers visiting the branches it plans to close had dropped by 60% on average over the last five years.

Nationwide also announced the closure of a branch in Kingswood, Gloucestershire.

It means the total number of high street bank branches closing this year is already at 103.

Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, said: “While many consumers have embraced digital banking, there are still millions, including the elderly, vulnerable and isolated, who aren’t yet ready or willing to make that switch – and they must be protected.

“Our figures show how the number of bank branches and free-to-use ATMs has been slashed in recent years, so it’s vital that new legislation protects free access to cash for the millions of people who rely on it.

“The Government must guarantee minimum levels of access without fees being charged and give the Financial Conduct Authority powers to oversee the cash system to ensure it meets community needs.”

:: Barclays branches scheduled for closure:

– Gosport-43/44 High Street-April 26
– Bedale-18a North End-April 26
– Bridgwater-16 High Street-April 26
– Heywood-2 Church Street-April 28
– Stamford-46/49 Broad Street-April 28
– Oakham-10 High Street-April 28
– Wymondham-45 Market Street-April 28
– London-19 Fleet Street-May 3
– Watton-56 High Street-May 3
– Chislehurst-7 High Street-May 4
– St Helens-19 Church Street-May 4
– Radlett 221 Watling Street-May 5
– Leyburn- Market Place-May 5
– Talbot Green- 3 Ely Valley Road-May 5
– Oundle-2 New Street-May 5

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2023-01-28 12:18:10Z
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Adani sell-off hits $52bn after short seller targets group - Financial Times

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani had more than $50bn wiped from the value of his business empire this week after a US short seller alleged fraud, threatening the success of a key share sale designed to attract international investors.

Shares in the Adani Group’s flagship company plunged 19 per cent on Friday, leading steep declines in the Mumbai-listed groups that make up a collection of businesses spanning ports to energy to airports.

Adani, one of the world’s richest men, has faced intense scrutiny since short seller Hindenburg Research on Wednesday accused the Adani Group of engaging in stock price manipulation and accounting fraud over the course of decades. The group has denied the allegations.

Hindenburg launched the critique just days before Adani Enterprises embarked on a share sale to raise Rs200bn ($2.4bn) and showcase the wider appeal of the Adani Group, which is closely held by related entities and opaque Mauritius-based funds.

Adani Enterprises stock closed 18.5 per cent lower at Rs2,761 on Friday, an almost 16 per cent discount to the Rs3,276 that a group of institutional investors anchoring the share sale have agreed to pay.

Jupiter Asset Management, BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Goldman Sachs are among the institutions that were allocated shares before the fraud allegations were made public.

The steep sell-off in Adani Enterprises threatens to dent demand from retail investors in India, who were permitted to start bidding for the shares on Friday. The sale is expected to complete on Tuesday.

Deepak Shenoy, chief executive of CapitalMind Wealth in Bangalore, said that the extent of the fallout on retail demand would not be clear until next week. “Monday and Tuesday are when any real demand will come in,” Shenoy said.

Adani Group has vowed to press ahead with the share sale despite the 60-year-old billionaire facing the biggest challenge of a career that has turned him into one of India’s most powerful moguls.

After starting life as a commodities trader, Adani built India’s largest private infrastructure group and has been growing his empire at a rapid pace. The expansion has left the combined Adani companies with $24bn of debt, prompting CreditSights, part of Fitch Solutions, to warn last year that the group was deeply “overleveraged”.

The company has denied the allegations from Hindenburg, calling the report “a malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations”.

Adani on Friday released an 18-page presentation called “Myths of Short Seller”, saying that “accounting (or fraud type assertions) ‘investigation’ [were] devoid of facts”.

As shares in the Adani companies tumbled, India’s opposition Congress party called for the country’s securities regulator and central bank to investigate the allegations.

Jairam Ramesh, a Congress MP and the party’s general secretary for communications, said the Hindenburg report “demands a response” because Adani Group is “closely identified with prime minister Narendra Modi”. The prime minister was previously chief minister of Gujarat, Adani’s home state and his biggest base of operations.

The turmoil engulfing Adani companies has also hit broader sentiment in India, with the benchmark Nifty 50 stock index down almost 3 per cent since market close on Tuesday.

Analysts said the selling on Friday was intensified by traders playing catch-up following a national holiday in India on Thursday.

Other Adani companies also endured steep losses, with Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission each sliding 20 per cent. The declines took the total drop in the market capitalisation of Adani groups to $52bn, down about a fifth from Tuesday.

One of the investors involved in the share sale said: “They [Adani Group] probably can’t raise that by Tuesday unless the share price goes up.”

Adani, a self-made tycoon, owns substantial stakes in all the group’s listed companies, including roughly three-quarters of Adani Enterprises. A spokesperson for Adani Enterprises declined to comment on the fall in its shares on Friday, adding that the company is “confident of the fundamentals”.

Adani has said it is considering legal action against Hindenburg. A subsequent response from Hindenburg said the group “would welcome it”.

“If Adani is serious, it should also file suit in the US, where we operate,” the short seller said. “We have a long list of documents we would demand in a legal discovery process.”

Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, on Thursday described Hindenburg’s report as “highly credible” and “extremely well researched”.

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2023-01-27 17:35:24Z
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Jeremy Hunt confirms HS2 will reach central London after reports it might stop in suburbs - Sky News

HS2 will end at Euston after reports the high-speed line could stop before reaching central London, the chancellor has confirmed.

Jeremy Hunt said he did not see "any conceivable circumstance" the original plan would not be followed and that he was "incredibly proud" of the work going ahead.

The endpoint of the line came into question after a report in The Sun claimed the last leg of HS2 could be scrapped and replaced with a new hub at Old Oak Common in the suburbs of north west London.

Politics live: 'Best tax cut right now is cut to inflation,' says Hunt

This would leave passengers having to finish their journey into the centre of the capital on the new Elizabeth underground line.

The government did not deny the reports or that a two to five-year delay to the entire project - currently due to be completed between 2029 and 2033 - was being considered due to record high inflation impacting costs.

However, when asked if he and the government were committed to the line ending in Euston as planned, Mr Hunt said: "Yes we are."

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Image: Jeremy Hunt dismissed reports the Euston hub would be scrapped

The chancellor added: "I don't see any conceivable circumstance in which that would not end up at Euston and indeed I prioritised HS2 in the autumn statement.

"We have not got a good record in this country of delivering complex, expensive infrastructure quickly but I'm incredibly proud that for the first time in this last decade under a Conservative government we have shovels in the ground, we are building HS2 and we are going to make it happen."

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Later, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman confirmed he was on the same page as Mr Hunt, and that the government was "committed to the integrated rail plan".

Planning your route into London

Making the final southern destination for HS2 a station at Old Oak Common - which is yet to be built - could well have saved the government billions.

But what would the impact have been on passengers?

Let's say Euston is your final destination.

You would get off at the new station, which will be fairly close to Hammersmith in west London, and take the Elizabeth Line to Tottenham Court Road - a journey of around 15 minutes.

From there, you could take the Northern Line three stops to Euston.

Or, if you're feeling energetic, it would be a 20-minute walk.

Image: Map shows journey from Old Oak Common to central London

The HS2 project has been dogged by criticism over its financial and environmental impact.

In October 2021, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove suggested capital investment for the line would be reviewed.

But after being installed at Number 11, Mr Hunt subsequently backed the project.

The target cost of Phase 1 between London and Birmingham was £40.3bn at 2019 prices, despite an overall budget of £55.7bn being set just four years earlier.

Penny Gaines from campaign group Stop HS2 said it is "not at all surprising" that costs were spiralling out of control.

"These reports just show that there are so many problems with HS2," she added. "It's being delayed further and further so the cost is going up, it should be cancelled in its entirety as soon as possible."

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2023-01-27 12:00:00Z
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