AN EXTRA £755 million will be ploughed into Wales over the next five years as a result of the HS2 high-speed rail project, it has been confirmed.

Plaid Cymru had claimed Welsh Government’s leading Labour group had failed to pursue the country’s share of the scheme’s funding under the Barnett Formula, which ensures a proportion of UK government spending is allocated to Wales, as well as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But the Welsh Government has disputed the claims and has confirmed it had secured an allocation of more than £755 million over the next five years.

The costs of the HS2 project – which will see a new high-speed rail line linking London and Birmingham open by 2026 and routes to Manchester and Leeds by 2033 – are officially predicted to be £55.7 billion, but some have said it could top £80 billion.

According to the Barnett Formula when the UK government increases or a department’s spending Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are entitled to extra cash as a result. But this also applies to cuts.

But the formula – named after its inventor Joel Barnett, who was chief secretary to the treasury under Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and James Callaghan – has come under criticism as it is devised according to population, meaning Scotland and Northern Ireland receive significantly more funding than Wales.