TAXPAYERS lost a whopping £2 billion from the fire sale of Eurostar, a government audit revealed yesterday.

A National Audit Office report claimed that the sell-off of the government’s 40 per cent stake in the Channel Tunnel operator to a Canadian firm was “run well” and achieved the Treasury’s goal of maximising proceeds.

But the £757 million receipt fell far short of the £3 billion that the British public invested in Eurostar — and the report said that the timing of the privatisation was dictated by the government’s aim to sell the railway before the election.

Commons public accounts committee chair Meg Hillier said that the sale had deprived the public of a potential £750m in dividends in the next decade.

“Once sold, the family silver can’t be bought back,” she said.

Rail union RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that the sale amounted to a “gross rip-off by anyone’s standards.”

“However you dress it up the fire sale of the UK’s Eurostar stake before the election has cost the taxpayer billions in wasted investment and lost future profits,” he blasted.

“With another £62 billion of our public assets set to be flogged off under this government, the Eurostar fiasco paints a grim picture of profiteering and bargain basement deals that rob the British people.”

But a Treasury spokesman welcomed the report.

“Getting the best value for money for the taxpayer and tackling our country’s debts so our country lives within its means are key parts of our long-term plan,” he said.

A consultants’ report published last month on the impact of High Speed One (HS1), the new line built to link the Channel Tunnel with St Pancras station in London, found its financial benefits were just half the amount of money it cost.

Transport commentator Christian Wolmar accused the government of “burying bad news” by putting the report out “without any fanfare” rather than making a ministerial statement on the matter.

HS1 “would never have proceeded if normal Department (for Transport) rules were followed,” he wrote in Rail magazine.

Labour shadow education secretary Lilian Greenwood said: “We need a new approach to the railways which puts passengers first and leaves the Tories’ ideological opposition to public ownership behind.”