THERE is “a good case” for building a new high-speed rail network with Birmingham at its heart – but only if it runs to Leeds and Manchester as well as London, MPs have warned.

Plans for a new £32 billion high-speed line, including a major new station in Birmingham city centre and a second near Birmingham Airport, received a major boost after they were backed by an influential committee.

The Commons Transport Committee said: “We believe that there is a good case for proceeding with a high-speed rail network, principally because of the substantial improvements in capacity and connectivity that it would provide, not only for services to and from London but also between the major cities of the Midlands, the North and Scotland.”

But in a new report published today following an inquiry, the MPs criticised plans to introduce legislation to the House of Commons which only authorises plans to build a service from London to Birmingham.