socialmedian: SFO investigation delays Rover report

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Source: observer.guardian.co.uk

Jul 05, 2009

Summary

Four-year £16m inquiry into carmaker's demise will not be seen until Serious Fraud Squad has investigated 'Phoenix Four'

The Serious Fraud Office has been called in to investigate the £1.4bn demise of MG Rover, the Birmingham-based car maker that collapsed in April 2005 with the loss of an estimated 15,000 British jobs.

In a written statement to parliament tomorrow , business secretary Lord Mandelson will announce that the SFO will probe the failure of the business, after the government's four-year inquiry concluded there could be grounds for a criminal investigation.

Mandelson's decision means the report compiled by the government's own inquiry team, which followed an investigation that cost the UK taxpayer £16m, is likely to be kept secret until after the SFO has completed its work.

News that the process will drag on for months and possibly years, has infuriated the so-called Phoenix Four, the team of businessmen who ran MG Rover when it failed and have been accused of asset-stripping. Mandelson's decision is also likely to be criticised by political opponents

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