High Speed Rail will create 8,000 jobs - George Osborne

Mr Osborne said high-speed rail would "secure the Midlands' future for the next generation"

Chancellor George Osborne has announced that thousands of jobs will be created by a new high-speed rail link between Birmingham and London.

He told BBC WM the link would "secure the Midlands' future for the next generation" and create 8,000 jobs.

He said about 4,500 jobs would be created at Curzon Park in Birmingham's Eastside regeneration area where the line would terminate.

HS2 will start at a redeveloped Euston station in central London.

The chancellor visited Curzon Park on Thursday to inspect part of the route.

He said the new terminal would "completely regenerate the area" and connect Birmingham with cities in the north and south of England as well as with the rest of Europe through the Channel Tunnel.

"When I think what the site looks like now, that is going to be a real transformation for the east of Birmingham," he said.

He added people who would be affected by its construction, including those living in Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire would be compensated.