The case for the controversial HS2 rail line is "as strong as ever", Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said.

The route, linking London and Birmingham, and running through parts of south Bucks, has been vehemently opposed by local authorities in Bucks, the National Trust and anti-HS2 campaigners. 

However, Mr Grayling told a London conference that the country needs HS2 "now more than ever" for the boost will give regional and national economies and jobs. 

He said: "We’re not backing away from HS2. The case is as strong as ever. We need this railway.

"And if we’re going to build it, let’s make it state-of-the-art, fit for the decades of growth ahead.

"We’re now on the cusp of announcing the route for Phase 2 and we’re and ready to start building the project just next year." 

He also said £40 million of funding will be available to support community and business projects that will "enhance local life".

His comments have been branded "disappointing" by Bucks County Council leader Martin Tett. 

And the Institute of Economic Affairs blasted the plan as being a "vanity project" that offers "zero value for money for taxpayers." 

Mark Littlewood, Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: "It is astonishing that the Government has given the green light to HS2, despite the project’s astronomical costs and its so-called benefits being near universally discredited.

"There is a need for improving transport capacity, but HS2 is a wildly inefficient solution."