Is the cat out of the bag – or is this just a politician’s typical need to seem firm?

David Cameron was asked directly whether opposition to HS2 could stop it going ahead, and he responded in clear terms that the scheme will definitely go ahead because the Government is “committed to it”.

As MPs have been quick to point out, this is not the official DfT line, as ministers are usually keen to flag up the importance of the ongoing consultation and the fact that no final decisions have been taken.

Anti-HS2 campaigners will be furious, although perhaps not surprised, that all their lobbying and letter-writing have no chance of influencing the decision. It will not mean they will give up, of course, as they still hope to influence public opinion and the media, which they have been very successful at doing, if polls taken at the beginning on the consultation and again recently are anything to go by.

Cameron makes a good case for HS2, and he may be right that such a potentially vital infrastructure project is too important to have its future decided by public opinion. But then, why bother with such an intensive consultation?