Now we know HS2's a fiasco. But can George Osborne admit it? | Simon Jenkins

The social security budget is being butchered – yet there is no lobby at the Treasury to curb this wild extravagance in spending

What a surprise. The National Audit Office has found a £3.3bn hole in the finances of the high-speed rail link, HS2. It doubts if the project will do much for Britain's economic growth or the "north-south divide". It also questions the benefit of shorter journey times in an age of Wi-Fi and 3G. To the strident Margaret Hodge, of the Commons public accounts committee,...