No doubt readers have seen the extraordinary piece about Stephen Buy-us in yesterday's Sunday Times?
£5,000 per day and boy, did National Express get their money's worth!
According to the Sunday Times 'a source close to Richard Bowker, who was chief executive at the time, said that the Byers version given to the undercover reporter was “pretty accurate”.'
Unbelievably Eye has come across a transcript of the very meeting between Buy-us and Adonis at which the future of NatEx was discussed!
It went something like this...
'Andrew, good to see you again. Look, you know that Richard Bowker's in a bit of a tight fix. You know a bit dicky on the cash flow and he's been a slightly reckless boy.'
'Well, we must help him out, Stephen, he really is too valuable to lose and Natex is a really great company. What do you suggest?'
'Andrew, I am not sure but just give him a bit of a bung. Nothing much, a couple of hundred mill will tide them over nicely.'
'Good as done Stephen me old mate, I'll get the cheque signed tomorrow.'
'Andrew, thanks a million, no pun intended,and by the way can I get Jo Moore to do a press release for you?'
'That's a great idea Stephen.'
You couldn't make it up.
UPDATE: This from Lobby Fodder...
It gets better.
Buy-us now claims that:
"I have never lobbied ministers on behalf of commercial organisations and have always fully disclosed my outside interests."
How does he reconcile this with his previous claim to the Sunday Times and Dispatches hacks that he had struck a secret deal with Lord Adonis last year on behalf of National Express?
UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...
So Buy-us now claims that he lied about striking a deal with Lord Adonis on behalf of National Express.
Unless of course he is lying when he says he lied - if you get my drift.
Which makes him a liar which ever way you look at it.
Do MPs still have to resign when they are caught lying or doesn't it matter now?
And if Buy-us is lying about lying where does that leave Lord Adonis?
UPDATE: This via Radio 4's World at One...
The DfT has confirmed that Lord Adonis and Stephen Byers did speak about the National Express franchise.
UPDATE: Guido launches an on-line petition...
Asking the Queen to strip Stephen Buy-us of his Privy Council Membership
UPDATE: Lord Adonis on Byers...
Adonis confirmed this afternoon that he had had a brief conversation with Byers.
But, he said, "I had no intention whatsoever of renegotiating on favourable terms with the company; such a move would undermine the franchise system and would not be in the interests of taxpayers."
"I have had no communication with Mr Byers since, I have not the faintest idea why he said what he said to the undercover reporter."
UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...
Adonis confirmed this afternoon that he had had a brief conversation with Byers.
But, he said, "I had no intention whatsoever of renegotiating on favourable terms with the company; such a move would undermine the franchise system and would not be in the interests of taxpayers."
Oh really?
According to DfT notes of a meeting between The Thin Controller and NX on 9 June 2009 obtained under an FoI Request:
"AA noted that for NXEC if RB said it had to come back at the end of the month and the DfT had to step in, a management contract or Section 30 would need to be put in place. The DfT would need to get its skates on to get this in place."
So in June Lord Adonis was clearly receptive to the idea of a management contract.
What changed his position and made him determined that NX would never darken another franchises door again?
Perhaps it wasn't Richard Bowker who wound him up but Byers!
UPDATE: Tom Winsor on Radio 4's PM programme....
"Some have said Stephen Byers has an ambiguous relationship with the truth".
Not a view, Tom made clear, that he shared!
After all the former Rail Regulator has first hand experience of Byers' absolute commitment to the truth, gained when the then Secretary of State for Transport forced Railtrack into Administration.
Gaspaccio anyone?
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