Transport Minister Makes "Irrefutable Case" For Crossrail

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The Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has told LBC an "irrefutable case" will be made to the Treasury to approve the £16billion cost of Crossrail in the capital.

He said the government was committed to the project but "surplus costs" needed to be "squeezed out" to deliver the best value for taxpayers money.

Mr Hammond told Nick Ferrari the whole project was being looked at ahead of an announcement next month. He said: "The government has said that it is committed to Crossrail. Boris and I are making the case that any unneccessary costs have been squeezed out and that it is a sensible project for the government to invest in. We'll have an announcement on this on 20th October.

"The government is committed to the project, but what we have to do is make sure that any excess costs in it are squeezed out and we are delivering the best value for money for every pound of taxpayers' money spent. We're hoping to be able to present a case to the Treasury that is irrefutable for investment in Crossrail.

"We're working very closely with the Treasury to persuade them not that we want special treatment, but that London's transport is the best use we can make with limited public funds to help boost the economy."

Mr Hammond also reserved praise for Boris' Bikes, after trying the London Cycle Hire Scheme for the first time. The Transport Minister believes it is only a matter of time before the scheme is adopted by other cities - provided sponsorship is found.

He added: "A lot of people will be looking at what happens in London. It's a huge project and the logistics are very complicated, but once they are ironed out, other cities will be interested and I'd be surprised if it didn't get rolled out to other places around the country."