Cost of MG Rover probe spirals
Cost of DTI investigation into MG Rover's finances spirals to more than £2m, Accountancy Age learns
The spiraling costs of the investigation into collapsed carmaker MG Rover
funded by the Department of Trade and Industry could be limitless, as a closing
date has still not yet been announced, Accountancy Age has
learned.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, Accountancy Age has discovered
that the costs incurred by the Department of Trade and Industry to October 2005
were paid to chief investigator and head of forensic accounting at BDO Stoy
Hayward, Gervase MacGregor, totalling £2.1m – more than £1m more than the amount
estimated.
However, the DTI stated that ‘no end date’ for the investigation ‘had been
fixed’. It said that ‘the inspection would end when the inspectors submitted
their report to the secretary of state’.
It also said that the DTI’s former permanent secretary, Catherine Bell, did
not expect to receive a report from inspectors before ‘mid-2006’, meaning the
investigation could cost millions more.
In November last year Accountancy Age revealed that MacGregor and
BDO had earned £1,090,890 in fees, disbursements and VAT between the 31 May and
31 August – well over £10,000 a day.
If a similar pattern in costs continued from 31 May until 30 December, then
this figure will have more than doubled to over £2.5m.