Boris Johnson steps up ‘bonkers’ plan for £20bn bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland
‘Proper piece of work’ under way says No 10 – despite warning that project is ‘technically clueless’ so costs will spiral
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson is stepping up work on his plan to build a £20bn bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland, despite experts dismissing it as “clueless” and “bonkers”.
A “proper piece of work” is under way in Whitehall, his spokesman said, arguing it proved the prime minister is “ambitious in terms of infrastructure projects”.
“This is an idea that the prime minister has expressed interest in in the past and I think he said at the time ‘watch this space’,” the spokesman said.
“Government officials are carrying out work in relation to the idea of a bridge linking GB mainland to NI. There’s a proper piece of work being carried out into the idea.”
The proposal – first mooted by Mr Johnson during last year’s Tory leadership campaign – enjoys strong Unionist support in Northern Ireland, but provoked deep scepticism in Scotland.
But experts have said that, while technically possible, spanning the 26-mile stormy stretch of water between Portpatrick and Larne would be fraught with problems, which means the costs could spiral.
It would require dozens of support towers – at unprecedented depths of more than 1,000ft in places – while navigating Beaufort’s Dyke, a submarine trench containing more than 1 million tonnes of Second World War munitions.
One engineer called it “bonkers” to try to put a price on such a project, while Chris Wise, the engineering designer of the 2012 Olympic velodrome, said last year: “It’s socially admirable but technically clueless.”
Andrew Adonis, the former Labour transport secretary, said of No 10’s latest defence of the scheme: “Yet the government is about to delay the HS2 line to Manchester and Leeds. Get real.”
Notably, the spokesman declined to say who exactly was carrying out the scoping work, how many people were working on the project, or when it might be completed.
He also declined to respond to the suggestion it could end up being a bridge between two countries outside the UK – if Scotland votes for independence and Brexit drives Northern Ireland into unity with the Republic.
The criticism of the idea has also noted Mr Johnson’s past failures with bridge proposals, including a similarly ridiculed call for a crossing between England and France.
Most notoriously, more than £40m was spent on the planned Garden Bridge in London, before it was finally abandoned by Sadiq Khan, his successor as the capital’s mayor.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, said that, if the government had a spare £20bn, Edinburgh and Belfast could suggest better ways of spending the money.
“I don’t close my mind to suggestions like this. But I suspect from Boris Johnson it’s a diversionary tactic,” she said
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments