HS2 spin doctors set to cost £1m say opponents

A team of spin doctors to promote the £32 billion high speed rail line is costing taxpayers more than £1 million, it was claimed today.

There are seven people working in the media team at HS2 Ltd, the company set up to make the case for the line, which will cut journey times between London and Birmingham to just over 45 minutes.

But campaigners against the proposed development say the media team are using social media sites including Twitter to monitor negative comments and put out "propaganda".

The Stop HS2 group said the Department for Transport should be using its own press officers instead of funding a separate team now the decision has been made to create the line.

Objectors say it is too costly, unnecessary and will tear up the countryside.

Stop HS2 campaign co-ordinator Joe Rukin said: "During this Parliament, it is estimated that once generous benefit packages have been included, the bill for this team will be over one million pounds.

"We have been trying to figure out what exactly the HS2 media team do all day.

"We now know that they somehow justify their bloated salaries by simply reading what we say all day."

But HS2 spokesman David Meechan said: "We are running a comprehensive stakeholder engagement programme consisting of community, environmental and planning forums.

"Our communications team explains and seeks views on all the work we are doing in around 100 media outlets along the 140 miles of the line between London and the West Midlands – as well as the national press and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook."