Newscast – £100Bn HS2 Debacle

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Today, it’s revealed HS2 could cost up to £102.7bn and trains will run slower than originally planned. Trains are said to not start running between 2036 and 2039, six years later than planned in 2033. As of March 2026, £44.2 billion has been spent on the programme. Adam and Fasil discussed how we got to this point. And, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed that up to 57 individuals and 20 companies could face criminal charges over the Grenfell Tower fire. They said they will submit the evidence files to the Attorney General’s Office for a final decision to prosecute, which cannot be held before 2029, 10 years after the accident. Adam joins reporter Tom Symonds to discuss why the process took so long. Now you can listen to Newscast on smart speaker. If you want to listen, say “Ask BBC Voice to play a news broadcast”. Works on most modern speakers. Join our Newscast online community here https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes are released daily. If you’re in the UK, for more BBC news and current affairs podcasts, listen to BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the BBC’s current political news. The presenter was Adam Fleming. Produced by Jack McClure with Anna Harris. The social producer was James Westgate. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The news editor is Sam Bonham.

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