On 21 August 2019, the Department for Transport (DfT) ordered an independent review of the highly controversial project, chaired by the British civil engineer Douglas Oakervee. Work on preparations for the first phase proceeded while the review was undertaken. The review was completed in November 2019, but was delayed by purdah rules relating to the general election which took place in the following month. Lord Berkeley, the deputy chair of the review, distanced himself from the review's conclusions and issued a dissenting report in January 2020. The Oakervee Review was published by the Department for Transport on 11 February 2020, alongside a statement from the Prime Minister confirming that HS2 would go ahead in full, with reservations. Oakervee's conclusions were that the original rationale for High Speed 2—to provide capacity and reliability on the rail network—was still valid, and no "shovel-ready" interventions existed that could deployed within the timeframe of the project. As a consequence, Oakervee recommended that the project go ahead as planned, with the following recommendations: