Up to nine people remain in tunnels dug beneath Euston Square Gardens, including the veteran campaigner Daniel ‘Swampy’ Hooper who protested against the Newbury Bypass.

‘HS2 Rebellion’ supporter Elizabeth Cairns told TP Weekly News that the protesters have enough supplies to keep going for several months, but spoke of concern at the apparent tactics of security staff trying to clear the site. She added that the project must stop as it is contributing to “a climate and ecological emergency”.

A High Speed 2 spokesman said: “We are doing all we can to end this illegal action quickly and safely, including providing those underground with air – despite claims to the contrary.”

He added that High Court enforcement officers are lawfully empowered to remove illegal trespassers using minimum force, and voiced concerns that the “crude tunnels” dug by activists are simply not equipped to deal with forecasts of rain.

A spokesman for the Health & Safety Executive said it had received concerns about conditions for protesters and these are being looked into, adding: “We remain in contact with HS2 in order to review any plans that would affect workers, protesters or rescue personnel.”

Green Party peer Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb who visited the site, said: “The activists at Euston are acting on behalf of all of us who see that the scheme is destructive, unnecessary and very costly. The scheme is going ahead in spite of the business case having collapsed with the social changes happening as a result of the pandemic. Mass commuting is unlikely to ever restart.”

She added: “I hope that the tunnellers are able to come out safely and that the Government cancels High Speed 2 as a badly managed, badly implemented waste of valuable money.”

This week also saw High Speed 2 chairman Allan Cook announce his resignation from the project after just over two years in post; a move which the organisation says is not linked to the protest at Euston. He will leave his post at the end of July.

In a statement, Sir Allan said: “With tunnelling due to start in the summer and as we enter a new phase of the project, the Department will start the search for my successor who can give their full focus to the future momentum of the project as the railway expands further north and is, as I expect, delivered in full.”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps thanked Allan Cook for “steering the project through the Stocktake and Notice to Proceed” to ensure the scheme “is set on the right course for the future”.

(Photograph: HS2 Rebellion / Fergal McEntee)