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A former Downing Street transport adviser has urged the chancellor to take an axe to HS2 in order to mitigate spending cuts elsewhere.

Andrew Gilligan, who advised Boris Johnson during his time as prime minister, claimed that reducing the scheme to the elements where construction has already begun could deliver a tenth of the spending cuts reportedly planned by Jeremy Hunt.

In a report for right-wing think tank Policy Exchange, Gilligan claimed that the project was no longer value for money and that while its benefits are 鈥渘ot small鈥�, they are 鈥渘ot big enough to justify the scheme鈥檚 extraordinary cost鈥�.

He said: 鈥淚t is not too late greatly to limit the damage. It is untrue, as some have said, that there is no fat in the public sector. There is HS2鈥�.

According to the most recent HS2 business case, published in June, the scheme will deliver 拢1.10 in benefits for every 拢1 of taxpayers鈥� money spent, and only when 鈥渨ider economic impacts鈥� are taken into account.

>> Also read: Former transport committee chair given rail and HS2 brief

>> Also read: Clouds gather over HS2: What would cutting Britain鈥檚 biggest infrastructure project mean for the industry?

Gilligan claimed this business case assumed that HS2鈥檚 day-to-day operations would be highly profitable 鈥� with fares covering operation as well as the costs of rolling stock and infrastructure renewal 鈥� and that the scheme would be delivered close to budget.

He suggested that both of these assumptions may no longer hold 鈥� noting that covid had seen commuting reduced to 70% of pre-pandemic levels, while a recent leaked HS2 board meeting revealed the first phase was 鈥渧ery unlikely鈥� to meet its target cost and that the final figure could be 鈥渕any billions more than the reported estimate鈥�.

The Department for Transport has since instructed the project to find savings and efficiencies to bring projected costs in line with targets.

The report recommended cutting all sections of the scheme on which construction has yet to start, leaving only a line between Old Oak Common and the city centre terminus in Birmingham, with a branch to Handsacre, where trains can rejoin the West Coast Main Line.

Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are reportedly looking to achieve seeking 拢54bn in savings by 2027/28, with 拢33bn of this supposedly to be achieved through spending cuts.

Gilligan claims a radical cut to HS2 would save around 拢3bn a year by 2027/8 and more than 拢44bn in total, calculated in today鈥檚 prices (HS2鈥檚 own budgeting continues to be calculated and reported in 2019 prices).

鈥淗S2 is not an instant way to avoid all cuts. Much of the spending in the next few years is on parts of the scheme that are too late to cancel,鈥� he said.

鈥淏ut meaningful sums can still be saved in this parliament, and very significant sums indeed from the middle of this decade, well within the window for fiscal tightening planned by the chancellor.鈥�

The transport secretary Mark Harper recently re-stated that the government 鈥渞emains committed鈥� to delivering HS2, after levelling-up secretary Michael Gove hinted at the possibility of a review on Sunday.