Susanna Reid alleged on Good Morning Britain that she had evidence that Rishi Sunak did not tell her the complete truth.
Susanna, 52, interviewed the Prime Minister on Tuesday’s broadcast of the ITV show.
She was commended for her no-nonsense questioning of Sunak, in which she challenged him about NHS funding, the cost of living problem, and HS2.
Susanna addressed claims that the northern portion of the high-speed rail route to Manchester had been abandoned during a face-to-face meeting at the Conservative Party Conference.
Sunak, 43, was questioned whether he was letting down the residents of Manchester, where the conference was being hosted, by potentially cancelling the transit link, to which he skirted the issue and said the event was going well.
Susanna refused to back down, gently asking him to confirm or reject the cancellation of the additional HS2 line, but the agitated PM stated he would not comment on the rumour.
After Susanna asked him when a decision on its future would be made, he said, “When we have gone through it properly.”
Sunak has since issued a statement confirming that he is scrapping “the remainder of the HS2 project.”
According to ITV News, the statement was taped in 10 Downing Street at least three days before Sunak came to Manchester for the interview with Susanna.
Susanna re-posted the tape on X, previously Twitter, and noted that it was recorded prior to his conversation with her.
She wrote: ‘On @gmb live on Tuesday, I asked the Prime Minister directly when he’d make the decision on HS2.
On @gmb live on Tuesday, I asked the Prime Minister directly when he’d make the decision on HS2. He said “when we have gone through it properly”.
BUT the video announcing the decision had ALREADY been recorded before that interview….. 🤔 https://t.co/xMFRna4jlh
— Susanna Reid (@susannareid100) October 5, 2023
‘He said “when we have gone through it properly”. BUT the video announcing the decision had ALREADY been recorded before that interview…..’
In the video which was shared on Wednesday, Sunak said: ‘I am stopping all phases of HS2 beyond Birmingham and we’ll reinvest every single penny saved into transport projects across the north and midlands.’
A statement was released by the prime minister’s spokesperson. They said: ‘The decision was taken by cabinet this morning [yesterday].
‘Of course, the prime minister has done a lot of work on it over a number of weeks but legal responsibility of the decision lies with the transport secretary and a decision isn’t a decision until the cabinet signs it off.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
