Adonis: 'Dither and delay' over HS2 The start of a public consultation on plans to compensate people whose homes are blighted by the planned high speed rail link, HS2, has been delayed. Consultation was due to begin last month but the Department for Transport has told the Conservative MP and minister David Lidington it cannot say when the exercise will now begin. Lord Andrew Adonis, former transport secretary, told the Today programme's Evan Davis that there has been "endless dither and delay" over the publishing of the legislation of HS2. He insisted that implementation needs to "come from the prime minister," warning that unless the government takes a strong lead on these projects, "we may not see HS2 in the 2020s."