EALING’s commitment to challenging the high-speed rail link, HS2, has been questioned after claims that it has not contacted the Department of Transport about the issue.

Many residents worried about HS2 are unhappy that the council refuses to join 51m, a collection of 18 councils along the route of the proposed track, which is fighting the £32bn plans for a link between London and Birmingham.

Now, a Freedom of Information request suggests that, while the 51m group made six representations to the Department of Transport from October 2011-Jan 2012, Ealing made none.

Jason Stacey, Greenford Ward councillor, claims Ealing’s cabinet minister for transport has betrayed those who believed he was fighting on their behalf.

“Cllr (Bassam) Mahfouz has misled residents and is seeking to cover the fact that he has done nothing to help them save their homes. His position is now untenable and he should resign,” he said.

Cllr Mahfouz described the allegations as “ridiculous” and claimed it was a desperate attempt from the opposition Conservative group in Ealing to distance themselves from their Government, which had a “careless disregard for residents”.

He says he has contacted the Department of Transport many times, and that members of the council met last week with the Chairman of HS2, as well as the Shadow Transport Secretary.

He hit out at Conservative councillors for distracting attention from the real issue at stake.

“Since the beginning, I have wanted this to be a cross-party campaign, so that we speak with one voice, to show the devastating impact this will have on Ealing,” he said.

“The main issue is why Justine Greening (Transport Secretary) can say a tunnel is good enough for Hillingdon, but Ealing residents are left completely exposed to HS2. It is a real slap in the face.”