The Government should commit to a full implementation of the High Speed 2 rail project, Carlisle City Council has said.

The local authority agreed unanimously at a meting of the full council meeting to call on Westminster to fully back the controversial rail project, known as HS2.

The council also resolved to urge central Government to publish in full the independent Oakervee review into HS2 as soon as possible, following previous leaks and months of speculation over its way forward.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to give HS2 the go-ahead on Tuesday - but is expected to review the second phase connecting Birmingham with the North in a bid to keep spiralling costs under control.

Conservative leader of the council John Mallinson said in a speech to the council: “The delivery of HS2, and Northern Powerhouse rail, is of critical importance nationally, and for Cumbria.”

The city council’s Labour group leader, Colin Glover, agreed.

“We’re working together on a significant infrastructure project for Carlisle station to make it HS2 ready,” he said.

“It’s absolutely critical that as a regional hub Carlisle needs to be able to drive the economy, not just of the city but the whole of Cumbria and the Borderlands region.

“Our Borderlands partners see Carlisle as a key landing platform for the region. It’s been disappointing that the Government haven’t published the Oakervee report in full.

“It was really important we had cross-party support, because it sends a very clear message to the Prime Minister that we need clarity for the region.

“Having the report published in full would be of great benefit to this region.”

Carlisle City Council’s deputy leader, Conservative councillor Gareth Ellis, explained that the major benefit of HS2 - particularly for Carlisle, was “not speed but capacity”.

“The West Coast Mainline is Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway,” he said.

“With the line so vital for both freight and passengers, we are entering a new golden age of rail use.

“But the line is now struggling with its current capacity. Delivering the HS2 project in full will significantly expand that capacity.”

John Mallinson added: “This is our chance to unlock the economic competitiveness needed close the north-south divide for good, recapture the spirit of the industrial revolution which began in the north and made it great.

“This is our chance to create an economy that works for all.”

Any HS2 link to Cumbria would fall in the third phase of work, with HS2 trains using the existing West Coast Mainline north of Wigan to the final destination in Glasgow.

Business leaders and politicians in the county and across the North have called for at least one HS2 stop, with Carlisle the favoured option, although some also want to see stops at Penrith and Oxenholme The Lake District.