Borders contract termination costs taxpayer £220m
Taxpayers will foot the bill after a tribunal finds flaws in the government’s cancellation of a contract for technology to count people in and out of the country.
The government has been ordered to pay £220m to a US defence firm over the terminated contract for the system.
A tribunal found that the government had unlawfully terminated the contract with Raytheon Systems Limited to provide the programme.
The eBorders scheme was devised in 2003 by the Labour government to collect passenger information on all journeys to and from the UK.
The payment has been revealed in a letter to Labour MP Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, from the home secretary.
Theresa Maysaid in her letter: “The situation that the government inherited was, therefore, a mess with no attractive options.
“The Treasury will work with the Home Office to make sure these costs are met without any impact on frontline services.
“We are looking carefully at the tribunal’s detailed conclusions to see if there are any grounds for challenging the award.”
Shadow Home Office minister David Hanson demanded that the home secretary make clear when the eBorders scheme will be back on track, and how much the scheme has cost taxpayers in legal fees.
“This is a crushing verdict on a Home Office decision made by David Cameron’s government, which has cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds over the last four years.”
“Theresa May must now make clear what legal advice she took before taking a decision that has cost the taxpayer £224m.”
But the home secretary said that parts of the programme to monitor immigration and visitors were a year overdue and that key milestones had been missed by Raytheon.
The Massachusetts-based firm has been awarded £49.98m in damages, as well as £9.6m for disputed contract changes, £126m for assets acquired as part of the contract, and £38m in interest payments. The company had sued for £500m.
The National Audit Office will now carry out a detailed review of the eBorders plan.
Changes to the plans, delays and the legal battle were just some of the problems that affected the eBorders plan.
However, the home secretary has said that the original requirements of the eBorders scheme are being met, with checks being made against terrorist and criminal watchlists.
Raytheon said in a statement: “The tribunal’s ruling confirms that Raytheon delivered substantial capabilities to the UK Home Office under the eBorders programme.
“Raytheon remains committed to partnering with the UK Government on key defence, national security and commercial pursuits.”
The eBorders programme was finally terminated in March, with the intended aims of the system merged into the Border System Programme, which was launched in January 2013
