TRANSPORT Secretary Chris Grayling has come out fighting in the row about a north-south divide in Government spending between the regions.

Mr Grayling faced a barrage of criticism in the summer after announcing Government backing for multi-billion pound investments for London and the south east amid cuts for the north.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and a host of other leaders from Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, complained northern commuters were still using “clapped out trains” while London was being lavished with cash.

But in a speech to business leaders in Manchester yesterday Mr Grayling said after “decades of under-investment”

he was “baffled”

by his Labour critics, who NICOLA STURGEON has spoken out about the “double whammy” of judgment she faced as a young woman starting in the male-dominated world of politics.

The First Minister revealed the sexism she faced in her early career and warned that while attitudes had improved, young women now faced “dangerous and unacceptable”

pressure online over their appearance.

Ms Sturgeon told an audience of 15 to 17-yearold girls when she began her career, women in politics were “extremely few and far between”.

She said: “When you’re surrounded by people what you find, not consciously but looking back on it unconsciously, what you start to do is emulate the behaviour of all of these commitments we have made during the period of our membership,” she said.

The Prime Minister also promised: n A “bold new security”

arrangement, and offered a treaty on maintain law enforcement and criminal justice co-operating.

n To protect EU citizens’ rights in the Brexit treaty, and allow British courts to take the rulings of the European Court of Justice into account when judging disputed cases n Ruled out an economic partnership based on existing agreements with Canada or Norway, and suggested instead a “creative solution”.

Ma n f r e d Web er, a German MEP and close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, said: “ In substance, PM May is bringing no more clarity to London’s positions. I am even more concerned now.”

he took with a pinch of salt.

Mr Grayling also took aim at the media and think tank the Institute of Public Policy Research (North) which claimed spending per head was vastly higher in the south.

He said: “I want to slay some of the myths around this. Some of the stuff that’s been said in the last months is absolutely not true.

“You have been hearing about us spending more in the south than the north. I want to take that head on.

The figures you have heard completely misunderstands the nature of spending.”

Mr Grayling said when local transport was taken into account spending per person was actually higher in the north west than the south east.

He sparked anger in July by supporting a new £30 billion Crossrail 2 scheme in London days rail electrification projects in Wales and the north were axed.