The UK government has cancelled plans to build new smart motorways

The UK government has cancelled all future smart motorway projects, citing the "financial pressures" and "lack of public confidence" from motorists.

The 14 new projects - 11 already on pause and three yet to begin construction - have all been given the axe, while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged £900m on safety improvements.

Which means the current smart motorways, which make up about 10 per cent of England’s motorway network, or almost 400 miles, will remain in place. However, there is a requirement to add more emergency refuge areas to increase their safety, and that’s because 235 of those miles don’t have a hard shoulder.

"Many people across the country rely on driving to get to work, to take their children to school and go about their daily lives and I want them to be able to do so with full confidence that the roads they drive on are safe," Mr Sunak said.

Simon Williams at breakdown recovery service, RAC, said: "This is a watershed announcement and a victory for everyone who has campaigned against these motorways that, by their design, put drivers in more danger should they be unlucky enough to break down on one.”

Since their introduction in 2014, there have been 38 deaths on smart motorways, which relatives of the victims, and campaigners argue, would have been avoided if a hard shoulder had been in place.

Williams continues: "Our research shows all-lane-running smart motorways are deeply unpopular with drivers so we're pleased the Government has finally arrived at the same conclusion. It's now vitally important that plans are made for making the hundreds of existing miles of these types of motorway as safe as possible.

"The possibility of converting all lane running stretches to the 'dynamic hard shoulder' configuration, where the hard shoulder is open and closed depending on the levels of traffic, could be one option the Government considers."