SFO 'to investigate Rover collapse'
Updated on 05 July 2009
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is reportedly set to investigate the demise of MG Rover, which collapsed in 2005 with the loss of more than 6,000 jobs.
The move follows a four-year Government probe into what went wrong at the Midlands carmaker between 2000 - when it was acquired by Phoenix Venture - and the administrators being brought in five years later.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is expected to confirm the SFO's involvement when he makes a written statement to Parliament on Monday.
The four executives who were in charge of MG Rover at the time have been quoted as saying there was "no suggestion of improper conduct".
The Government's initial investigation was launched straight after Rover's collapse, but it has taken far longer than expected and has cost the taxpayer £16 million.
The report was finally submitted around three weeks ago, amid calls for the findings to be made public. However, it is understood the decision to call in the SFO could mean the report's publication is withheld.
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) declined to comment ahead of Lord Mandelson's statement. The SFO also declined to comment.
The MP for Birmingham Northfield, Richard Burden, whose constituency includes almost all of the former MG Rover site, last month pressed for the imminent publication of the results.
He said: "Like everybody else in the area I have found it incredibly frustrating that we have had to wait so long for this report.
"The escalating cost of the inquiry has also been a matter of real concern to so many people, including me."
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