Boris Johnson has been accused of delaying decisions on tricky election issues until after polling day – The Sun

BORIS Johnson has been accused of ducking tricky election issues by delaying decisions on them until after polling day.

A series of controversial policies that need urgent decisions are piling up in No10.

They include whether to ban fracking for shale gas, if the new HS2 rail network should be dumped and allowing Chinese telecoms giant Huawei to build the 5G mobile network.

The Government last night admitted all three will be effectively parked until after December 12 now.

Of the high speed rail line, the PM’s official spokesman admitted: “The independent review is ongoing, providing the Government with clear advice on whether the project should proceed.

“Findings will not come before Parliament dissolves.”

The Sun has also learned that Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom will announce a full safety review into hydraulic fracturing as early as tomorrow after a series of small earthquakes.

It will come after the PM told the Commons on Wednesday that there are “very considerable anxieties” about shale gas extraction, that has revolutionised the US energy market.

But the new review also won’t report back for several months. A decision on Huawei has also been expected from senior Cabinet ministers since the summer, but No10 also admitted this week that it too wasn’t imminent.

Downing Street was also yesterday accused of sitting on a potentially inflammatory report by Parliament’s Intelligence & Security Committee into hostile Russian activity against the UK.

It is expected to include evidence from spy chiefs about Moscow’s attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 Brexit referendum and 2017 General Election. But No10 insiders hit back to insist the committee’s reports usually take six months to clear.

Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna said: “HS2 in particular is vital for the economy. Delaying big infrastructure decisions causes further damage to it. There is an element of hypocrisy in a PM that accuses everyone else of dither and delay when he seems to be the master of it.”

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