Ex-MG Rover execs stall publication of report into their conduct

The former bosses of MG Rover, who made an estimated £40 million from the business, have stalled the publication of a government report into their conduct.

The inquiry, which was initiated by the former Department of Trade and Industry, was ready to conclude a few months ago. However, according to The Times, vigorous protests from the four men who ran MG Rover – who insist that ministers and civil servants shoulder some of the blame for the carmaker’s collapse in April 2005 – have prompted investigators to conduct a new series of interviews with witnesses.

The four directors of the Phoenix Consortium, which owned MG Rover, were John Towers, Nick Stephenson, John Edwards and Peter Beale. By the end of October the inquiry had been running for three-and-a-half-years and had cost the taxpayer £13.8 million.

(The Times)