The head of Britain’s National Audit Office (NAO) has done a U-turn and will now carry out more investigations into the closure of Fife’s Remploy factories.
He has agreed to seek more information about the transfer of intellectual property rights between Remploy Marine in Fife and its biggest customer Ocean Safety.
In the face of continuing pressure from Fife MPs Lindsay Roy and Gordon Brown, Auditor General Sir Amyas Morse has instructed his staff to obtain further details before a meeting Mr Roy next month.
The decision follows a recent letter from the Glenrothes and Central Fife MP in which he called on the NAO to obtain answers to “simple and straightforward” questions before the meeting.
Initially, Sir Amyas ruled that while there was a lack of documentation on intellectual property rights, there was no evidence to suggest that this was a result of impropriety.
He rejected Mr Roy’s request for a more detailed and robust probe.
He said: “I do not feel that there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to merit a more extensive investigation at this time.”
After protests from the two Fife MPs he has now agreed to seek further information, however.
Mr Roy had stressed the need to find out what happened to the agreement on shared intellectual property rights between Remploy Marine and Ocean Marine, how much money Remploy received for their purchase and what happened to its other assets.
“I am delighted that Sir Amyas agrees that such information is needed before we meet,” Mr Roy said.
“In my view, that is the only way that the NAO can make an informed decision on whether or not the sale of Remploy Marine and the transfer of the intellectual property needs to be investigated in greater depth.”
He added: “Gordon Brown and I believe that Remploy’s assets may have been given away with little or no benefit to the taxpayer, and certainly none to the 65 workers who were made redundant.
“We were not happy with the way the initial investigation was carried out. We did not feel it was wide-ranging enough and that a more detailed probe is needed.
“The answers to the questions I posed should make it clear whether or not there is sufficient evidence to merit reopening the investigation.”