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View offers Hi {{fullName}} * My Independent Premium * Account details * Help centre * Logout (BUTTON) News > UK > UK Politics Philip Hammond gets cost of HS2 wrong by £20bn in radio interview The chancellor had been attacking Labour's policy costings, which he claims "don't add up", when he made the ironic gaffe * Charlotte England @charlottengland * Thursday 18 May 2017 15:00 {{^moreThanTen}} * {{total}} comments {{/moreThanTen}} * Hammond may find himself out of a job after the election ( Getty Images ) The man in charge of Britain's economy got the cost of a high-speed railway wrong by at least £20bn in a radio interview. Philip Hammond told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that HS2 will cost the taxpayer £32bn, when in fact it is expected to cost more than £52bn. The Chancellor had been attacking Labour's policy costings, which he claimed "don't add up", when he made the ironic gaffe. Download the new Indpendent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines (BUTTON) Download now Read more * Diane Abbott car-crash LBC interview on police officer pay in full * Theresa May refuses to back Hammond for Chancellor after the election * Corbyn's plan to renationalise the railways makes economic sense Social media users pointed out the mistake, which happened yesterday, was not immediately reported by most major news outlets, with some commenters suggesting the Conservative Party had a "free pass" with segments of the press. In contrast, shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott was vilified by journalists earlier this month when she got confused about the cost of recruiting 10,000 new police officers live on LBC radio. Ms Abbott gave varying estimates for the cost of the new recruits, ranging from £300,000 to £80m — both of which host Nick Ferrari said did not make sense. However some people said Ms Abbot's poor sums paled in comparison to Mr Hammond's, especially given that he has been in charge of Tory spending for almost a year already. “Just answer this question,” asked John Humphrys, who presents the flagship news and current affairs programme, on Wednesday morning. “How much is HS2 costing? "Thirty-two billion?" Mr Hammond replied. "About 32 billion pounds." Mr Humphrys responded: "Thirty-two? Not 52 billion?" "There's a huge amount of contingency built into the funding for these projects," Mr Hammond argued. "Indeed it is and it is usually met, that contingency, isn't it?" retorted Mr Humphrys. "Because almost always things cost more than we expect." Inside Politics newsletter The latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox ____________________ Enter your email address (BUTTON) Continue (BUTTON) Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid Email already exists. Log in to update your newsletter preferences Register with your social account or click here to log in receiveBrexit_______ [ ] I would like to receive updates on politics every morning by email Update newsletter preferences Without addressing his mistake directly, Mr Hammond tried to justify the cost of building the 250mph rail line linking London, the West Midlands, Leeds and Manchester 'as spread over 15 years as part of our infrastructure investment plan'. It is possible Mr Hammond got confused about the cost of HS2 because it has been revised upwards several times since the controversial plan was first announced. In 2015, an analysis by The Daily Telegraph found HS2 to be the most expensive high speed project in existence. The price estimate at the time of £42.6bn put it at more than ten times the cost per kilometre of some global counterparts — the estimated price tag has since risen by £10bn. Jeremy Corbyn has said the Labour party will re-nationalise the railways "line by line" with ticket prices expected to fall as a result. But Labour was criticised after the release of its manifesto earlier this week for providing detailed costings for all of its policies except for its re-nationalisation plans — which could run into the tens of billions of pounds. Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures Show all 51 Created with Sketch. Created with Sketch. (BUTTON) Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures 1/51 31 December 2019 Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast PA 2/51 30 December 2019 Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London Reuters 3/51 29 December 2019 Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland PA 4/51 28 December 2019 The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium Getty Images for Harlequins 5/51 27 December 2019 A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks PA 6/51 26 December 2019 Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow EPA 7/51 25 December 2019 Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London PA 8/51 24 December 2019 Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London EPA 9/51 23 December 2019 Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone AFP via Getty 10/51 22 December 2019 People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year PA 11/51 21 December 2019 Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa Reuters 12/51 20 December 2019 The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge PA 13/51 19 December 2019 Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament AFP via Getty 14/51 18 December 2019 Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall PA 15/51 17 December 2019 A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol PA 16/51 16 December 2019 Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK PA 17/51 15 December 2019 Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood PA 18/51 14 December 2019 First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland Getty Images 19/51 13 December 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority EPA 20/51 12 December 2019 A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland Reuters 21/51 11 December 2019 Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote AFP via Getty 22/51 10 December 2019 A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth PA 23/51 9 December 2019 Leah Rossiter (left) and Ceara Carney, dressed as mermaids, join members of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion Ireland protesting outside Leinster House in Dublin, against overfishing in Irish Waters PA 24/51 8 December 2019 Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for selfies with supporters at a general election rally in Colwyn Bay, north Wales AFP via Getty 25/51 7 December 2019 Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park Action Images via Reuters 26/51 6 December 2019 A climate activist wearing a mask and holding a placard reading 'Fossil fuel era is over' outside Millbank Studios in London AP 27/51 5 December 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland PA 28/51 4 December 2019 The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War PA 29/51 3 December 2019 Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London EPA 30/51 2 December 2019 England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand Getty 31/51 1 December 2019 A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters 32/51 30 November 2019 A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police PA 33/51 29 November 2019 School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike Angela Christofilou/The Independent 34/51 28 November 2019 Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November's dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said PA 35/51 27 November 2019 The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS 36/51 26 November 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire PA 37/51 25 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail PA 38/51 24 November 2019 Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum Getty Images 39/51 23 November 2019 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield PA 40/51 22 November 2019 Gallery assistants adjust 'The Ancient Town of Uglich' by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby's in London PA 41/51 21 November 2019 A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth PA 42/51 20 November 2019 After Mauricio Pochettino's sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty 43/51 19 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election PA 44/51 18 November 2019 Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District PA 45/51 17 November 2019 Stefanos Tsitsipas lifts the winners trophy after beating Dominic Thiem at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London EPA 46/51 16 November 2019 Duke of York, speaking for the first time about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis BBC/PA 47/51 15 November 2019 Brazilian indigenous leader, Kreta Kaingang from the Kaingang People, holds a petition letter with over 200,000 signatures asking the UK government to suspend trade talks with Brazil until the Amazon and its people are protected, as he poses outside 10 Downing Street AFP via Getty 48/51 14 November 2019 Spanning all four spaces and the corridor of the White Cube Bermondsey gallery Anselm Kiefer's new exhibition encompasses large-scale painting and installation Rex 49/51 13 November 2019 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wears a pair of mittens that say 'Pick Pam', referring to Labour MP Pam Duncan-Glancy (not pictured) as he visits the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre in Glasgow Getty 50/51 12 November 2019 Head glass conservator Sam Kelly inspects the Angeli Laudantes and Angeli Ministrantes stained glass windows at Salisbury Cathedral as restoration work to clean, conserve and restore the windows, installed in 1879, gets underway PA 51/51 11 November 2019 Flooding in the village of Fishlake near Doncaster after a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours PA 1/51 31 December 2019 Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast PA 2/51 30 December 2019 Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London Reuters 3/51 29 December 2019 Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland PA 4/51 28 December 2019 The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium Getty Images for Harlequins 5/51 27 December 2019 A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks PA 6/51 26 December 2019 Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow EPA 7/51 25 December 2019 Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London PA 8/51 24 December 2019 Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London EPA 9/51 23 December 2019 Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone AFP via Getty 10/51 22 December 2019 People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year PA 11/51 21 December 2019 Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa Reuters 12/51 20 December 2019 The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge PA 13/51 19 December 2019 Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament AFP via Getty 14/51 18 December 2019 Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall PA 15/51 17 December 2019 A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol PA 16/51 16 December 2019 Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK PA 17/51 15 December 2019 Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood PA 18/51 14 December 2019 First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland Getty Images 19/51 13 December 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority EPA 20/51 12 December 2019 A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland Reuters 21/51 11 December 2019 Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote AFP via Getty 22/51 10 December 2019 A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth PA 23/51 9 December 2019 Leah Rossiter (left) and Ceara Carney, dressed as mermaids, join members of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion Ireland protesting outside Leinster House in Dublin, against overfishing in Irish Waters PA 24/51 8 December 2019 Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for selfies with supporters at a general election rally in Colwyn Bay, north Wales AFP via Getty 25/51 7 December 2019 Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park Action Images via Reuters 26/51 6 December 2019 A climate activist wearing a mask and holding a placard reading 'Fossil fuel era is over' outside Millbank Studios in London AP 27/51 5 December 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland PA 28/51 4 December 2019 The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War PA 29/51 3 December 2019 Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London EPA 30/51 2 December 2019 England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand Getty 31/51 1 December 2019 A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters 32/51 30 November 2019 A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police PA 33/51 29 November 2019 School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike Angela Christofilou/The Independent 34/51 28 November 2019 Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November's dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said PA 35/51 27 November 2019 The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS 36/51 26 November 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire PA 37/51 25 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail PA 38/51 24 November 2019 Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum Getty Images 39/51 23 November 2019 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield PA 40/51 22 November 2019 Gallery assistants adjust 'The Ancient Town of Uglich' by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby's in London PA 41/51 21 November 2019 A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth PA 42/51 20 November 2019 After Mauricio Pochettino's sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty 43/51 19 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election PA 44/51 18 November 2019 Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District PA 45/51 17 November 2019 Stefanos Tsitsipas lifts the winners trophy after beating Dominic Thiem at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London EPA 46/51 16 November 2019 Duke of York, speaking for the first time about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis BBC/PA 47/51 15 November 2019 Brazilian indigenous leader, Kreta Kaingang from the Kaingang People, holds a petition letter with over 200,000 signatures asking the UK government to suspend trade talks with Brazil until the Amazon and its people are protected, as he poses outside 10 Downing Street AFP via Getty 48/51 14 November 2019 Spanning all four spaces and the corridor of the White Cube Bermondsey gallery Anselm Kiefer's new exhibition encompasses large-scale painting and installation Rex 49/51 13 November 2019 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wears a pair of mittens that say 'Pick Pam', referring to Labour MP Pam Duncan-Glancy (not pictured) as he visits the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre in Glasgow Getty 50/51 12 November 2019 Head glass conservator Sam Kelly inspects the Angeli Laudantes and Angeli Ministrantes stained glass windows at Salisbury Cathedral as restoration work to clean, conserve and restore the windows, installed in 1879, gets underway PA 51/51 11 November 2019 Flooding in the village of Fishlake near Doncaster after a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours PA Under the party's own rules, it has to balance day-to-day spending and aim for an operational surplus by 2022, but it can borrow for infrastructure spending. The leadership argue the one off costs of buying back assets like the railways and postal service will be recouped in the long run. Mr Humphrys shot Mr Hammond down for saying the rival party's sums "did not add up". The presenter said: "I understand that that is the mantra, that they 'don't add up', but the fact is when you look at it they [Labour] have covered the running costs, the things people will really like to see a bit of money spent on like scrapping tuition fees, investment in schools, NHS, reversing benefit cuts and so on. The sort of things people will say yes I want to see that happening. And they have covered that, they have told us how they are going to pay for that." Mr Hammond's mistake came on the same day that Theresa May refused to say if he would be kept on as Chancellor if the Tories are re-elected next month. 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