FAILURE to publish in full a damning report into the controversial HS2 rail project has been branded "unacceptable" by a Bucks council.

Members of Chiltern District Council are so incensed at the government withholding crucial information that this week they passed a formal motion demanding the report is published in full.

The review, carried out by the Cabinet Office's Major Projects Authority, gave the HS2 project a red/amber rating - meaning there are 'major risks in a number of key areas' and 'urgent action is needed to ensure these are addressed'.

However the government has said the report won't be officially published until next year.

That has left members of Chiltern District Council incandescent with rage and on Tuesday they called for the report to be published immediately in an official motion.

Council Leader Nick Rose said after the meeting: "The government champions transparent government so withholding the document is unacceptable. A number of MPs have asked the government directly whether it could be published urgently.

"In fact, we only found out about the report because MP Margaret Hodge asked the question at the Public Accounts Committee. How can it be that a report designed to look into the viability of spending billions of pounds can be kept secret?"

He added that other reports which highlighted potential problems for the project had only been published after lengthy delay.

Meanwhile Buckinghamshire County Council Leader Martin Tett appeared on the BBC's Daily Politics show on Wednesday for a debate on HS2.

He again called into question the scheme's business case, but Tory minister Grant Shapps reiterated Transport Secretary Justine Greening's earlier assertion that HS2 "will be built".