Ministers have been accused of "great rail betrayal" after refusing to commit to HS2 reaching Manchester.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh hit out at reports that the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 could be scrapped, saying it looked as if the Tories were “considering cutting the North of England out in its entirety”.

She argued that the new high-speed route would provide a slower journey between London and Birmingham than the current train services on offer due to it terminating, at least temporarily, in the west of London.

The Independent published a photograph last week of a leaked document appearing to show the Government has already spent £2.3 billion on stage two of the railway from Birmingham to Manchester, but that up to £35 billion could be saved by abandoning the phase.

It comes as the Labour party made promises to build the project “in full” if it wins power.

Downing Street has since refused to guarantee that trains will run from the Midlands to the North West as part of the national infrastructure project.

Both proponents and critics of the high-speed route criticised the decision to send junior transport minister Richard Holden out to answer an urgent question on the future of the scheme on Monday.

Mr Holden, responsible for buses and roads in the Department for Transport, said rail minister Huw Merriman was unable to answer as he was in the Czech Republic on Government business.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper did not make an appearance either, despite having spoken at a conference on electric vehicles in Westminster on Monday.

Facing a barrage of questions in the Commons about whether high-speed trains would ever run to Manchester, Mr Holden would only say that “spades are already in the ground on HS2 and we remain focused on its delivery”.

“First they slashed Northern Powerhouse Rail, then they binned HS2 to Leeds, then they announced the line would terminate at Old Oak Common for years to come, and now it looks like they are considering cutting the North of England out in its entirety,” Ms Haigh said.

“If this is true, what are we left with? The Tories’ flagship levelling up project that reaches neither the North of England nor central London.

“The most expensive railway track in the world that thanks to terminating in Acton will be a longer journey between Birmingham and central London than the one passengers currently enjoy… A great rail betrayal.”

Facing riled-up MPs, Mr Holden said there was “no question of this Government abandoning the North”, but he repeatedly refused to clarify whether the project would run to Manchester.

He added: “Ministers will continue to update the House regularly on HS2, as we have done throughout.”

The planned railway is intended to link London, the Midlands and the North of England but has been plagued by delays and soaring costs.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is said to have concerns about the project’s budget, with plans reportedly to potentially abandon the Euston leg altogether as part of a drastic cost-cutting exercise.

Ministers have already moved to pause parts of the project.