VIDEO: Calls for HS2 plans to be brought forward

Chancellor George Osborne has backed proposals to bring forward by six years the planned extension to Crewe of the HS2 high-speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

The move, which would see the first trains running on the Birmingham-Crewe section by 2027, was a key recommendation of a report by HS2 Ltd chair Sir David Higgins.