Chesham and Amersham MP Cheryl Gillan revealed she considered sending a ‘not my valentine’ card to HS2 last week, after she quizzed government transport chiefs on the impact the controversial rail project could have on Bucks.

On Thursday, February 14, Dame Cheryl asked transport minister Jesse Norman if any extra cash would be given to Bucks County Council to repair road damage caused by “inevitable” heavy traffic linked to HS2.

During transport questions, she said: “If HS2 is built, the inevitable heavy traffic will add to the damage to our roads in Buckinghamshire, many of which are already congested and suffer from pollution, including popular routes such as the A413.

“What additional funds will the minister make available to Buckinghamshire County Council to repair the inevitable extra damage to our rural roads, so that the cost does not fall disproportionately on Buckinghamshire taxpayers?”

However, Mr Norman said he was not aware of the issue – and said HS2 might actually reduce traffic on Buckinghamshire roads.

He said: “I am not sure I recognise that problem, but my right honourable friend is welcome to write to me.

“There is every reason to think that HS2 might in fact relieve some of the traffic, because people will be making journeys that are not merely local.”

Dame Cheryl then went on to ask parliamentary private secretary for transport, Nusrat Ghani, why HS2 has forked out £5,663,422 per month on “overpaying” 89 agency staff.

She said: “In a written answer this week, the minister tells me that in the last six months of 2018, HS2 spent £5,663,422 on 89 agency staff per month.

“That equates to just in excess of £120,000 in an annual salary. What on earth is going on in HS2?

“Who is making the taxpayer pay these amazingly overpaid prices for personnel on HS2? It is a waste of money; cancel it.”

Ms Ghani assured the MP “there is a set budget for HS2”and went on to say the project will “bring benefits” across the country, such as “demolishing the north south divide”.

She said: “I am well aware that my right honourable friend has been a doughty and particularly inquisitive member of parliament on behalf of her constituents on HS2.

“She knows that there is a set budget to deliver HS2, and we must not forget the benefits it will bring across our country, demolishing the north-south divide and building a fairer country.

“This is more than a transport project; it is a transformative project linking eight of our 10 cities and investing in the midlands and the north of our country.”

However, Dame Cheryl said there are “continuing inconsistencies” in the rationale for the project, adding: “I don’t want to be the person who sends a Not My Valentine card to HS2 Ltd, but somebody has to hold the project up to account.”