A JOINT commitment from the Prime Minister and Chancellor backing a new high-speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester has been welcomed by Keighley MP Kris Hopkins.

He said the announcement, made by David Cameron and George Osborne during a visit to Yorkshire, was "a landmark moment for the north".

"We simply cannot fulfil our true economic potential without significant improvements to our rail network – which is now over-stretched and over-capacity," said Mr Hopkins.

Ministers and officials will now examine options, costs and a delivery timetable for the so-called HS3 project, before publishing a report in March.