Local News

Carillion: Dirty rotten thieves

The PFI company Carillion has been hauled up in front of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for price fixing, inflating the costs of schools and colleges by up to half a million pounds.

That wouldn't be so bad if the schools and colleges they built were fit for use, but these thieving bastards can't even get that right.

Balfour Beatty is also among those being investigated for unfair practice and entering false invoices, leading to customers, such as local authorities, having to pay too much.

We thought the whole PFI deal was so that schools were built at a competitive price and saved us all money. Instead it seems that some companies are tendering prohibitively high bids after entering into an agreements whereby the successful tenderer give a sweetener to those that lost out.

We, the council tax-payers were among the victims of this collusion, said Edward Walsh of the Local Government Association.

"We'll be seeking to find out whether or not councils will get any of this money back in the shape of fines," Mr Walsh said.

More information