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Government to check Eurotunnel spends £33 million settlement on UK upgrades.
A senior civil servant has promised MPs that the government will audit Eurotunnel’s accounts to ensure that the £33 million it agreed to give the cross-Channel rail operator last week will be spent on improvements to its UK operations.
The government agreed the out of court settlement after Eurotunnel sued the Department for Transport for overlooking the firm when awarding contracts to three ferry companies to provide extra freight capacity after Brexit.
Bernadette Kelly, the permanent secretary at the DfT told the Public Accounts Committee the money would benefit ‘the wider economy’.
However, she didn’t rule out the possibility that Eurotunnel had been planning to upgrade its facilities before receiving the public funds.
The Government agreed the multi-million settlement with the train operator after awarding contracts to Brittany Ferries, DFDS and a start up, Seaborne Freight, last December. Eurotunnel claimed the process for handing out the contracts was ‘secretive’ and it should have been invited to bid.
The £13.8 million contract with Seaborne Freight was later cancelled after the company lost a financial backer.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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