Transport Secretary claims scrapped A1 dualling project in Northumberland was 'poor value for money'

Heidi Alexander made the comments in the House of Commons in response to questions from Scottish Borders MP John Lamont.

Labour controversially confirmed the project to dual 13 miles of the road between Morpeth and Ellingham had been scrapped in October after decades of campaigning.

The previous Conservative Government had given the green light in May – however, the timing of the approval was criticised, coming both after the decision had been delayed three times and the calling of the General Election, with the Tories well behind in the polls.

Speaking in the Commons, Tory MP Mr Lamont said: “The A1 is a vital road link for the Scottish Borders and Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom, and Labour’s decision to scrap much-needed improvements will harm the local economy and stop businesses investing in jobs.

“The local Labour MP for North Northumberland (David Smith), has said he was ‘disappointed and frustrated’ by the decision of his Labour colleagues. What do the Labour Government have against car drivers and truck users on roads in rural Scotland?”

Ms Alexander explained: “We have nothing against car drivers and truck users. We appreciate the long-standing local desire for dualling the A1 from Morpeth to Ellingham, but I am sorry to say that in the assessment we carried out post the general election, it represented poor value for money.

“There have been several delays to the development consent order decision and the contractors were decommissioned more than two years ago. In that time, scheme costs have risen significantly, making the scheme even less affordable and further worsening the value for money.

“Having said that, I recognise that there are safety issues on the existing route, which we will need to look at carefully, as we would with any other part of the network. However, that alone does not warrant the dualling scheme.”

It has also been revealed that more than £68 million had been spent on the project before it was cancelled.