色猫直播 broke the news on 15th May that two labour suppliers on HS2 were being investigated.
It was alleged by an anonymous whistleblower that evidence had been found indicating that a senior works manager had accepted bribes from one supplier in return for extra work on the project while another had been supplying self-employed CIS workers while charging an inflated PAYE rate and using fraudulent offshore payroll companies to process these bogus payments.
As we reported at the time, the whistleblower described the shenanigans as 鈥渇raud on a large scale which the public have a right to be informed of鈥�.
After we broke this news, HS2 Ltd responded: 鈥淗S2 Ltd treats all whisteblower allegations seriously. We are aware of the claims that have been made, and an investigation is currently under way.鈥�
Today it added: "An investigation was launched earlier this year into a number of different allegations and our contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci has implemented additional monitoring and controls.鈥�
However, on 25th May, The i Paper said that Danny Sullivan Group (DSG) had been suspended from working on Balfour Beatty Vinci鈥檚 West Midlands section of the project pending investigations. DSG was one of the labour suppliers named in the whistleblower鈥檚 letter.
When we approached BBV and Danny Sullivan Group two weeks ago, they both pled ignorance to the whistleblower's allegations.
A spokesperson for Danny Sullivan Group today said: 鈥淲e are aware of the allegations that have been raised in relation to HS2. As a business with a long and reputable history we take these allegations extremely seriously and are co-operating fully with the ongoing investigation. We have acted swiftly to respond to the information, commissioning a detailed and thorough internal review, which remains ongoing.鈥�
He added that the investigations into DSG, and the in the internal investigation that DSG has itself undertaken, with the support of external of advisers, do not relate to bribery.
The second labour supplier mentioned by the whistleblower was investigated in January, according to latest reports, but it has since been reinstated.
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