New rail minister Lord Peter Hendy is facing growing calls to answer questions about his role in the dismissal of engineer Gareth Dennis from engineering company SYSTRA.
In a letter to the company, Hendy threatened to withhold public contracts until the company had disciplined Dennis.
All of this happened whilst Hendy held the role of Network Rail’s chair, sending the letter to SYSTRA who counts Network Rail as one of its biggest clients on 14 May. In the letter, Hendy was angered after Dennis had raised concerns over the safety issues at Euston station in an article with The Independent. Dennis had been quoted as saying that “Euston was not just unpleasant, but unsafe.”
In the letter, which is addressed to SYSTRA CEO, Nick Salt, Hendy warned that the comments made by Dennis would “reflect adversely on your likelihood of doing business with us or your supply chain again.”
Initially, Hendy queried whether Dennis was currently working for Network Rail through his employment with SYSTRA. In emails seen by RAIL, Hendy told officials to write to the CEO asking for an apology as well as requesting disciplinary action. Hendy also requests to contact the Independent requesting them to withdraw the remarks. Nearly a week later, Hendy emails Network Rail staff asking, “how did we deal with them.”
The letter was then sent to SYSTRA on 14 May. Six days after Hendy’s letter to SYSTRA, Dennis, who has written for RAIL and its sister publication RAIL Review in the past, was placed on suspension while an investigation was carried out into his comments on safety issues at Euston Station in the article. The letter sent by Hendy was cited in the suspension letter that Dennis received on 20 May.
Salt initially apologised “for any alarm” the article may have caused at Network Rail, however, in a further email on 19 May, Hendy said he was “not convinced” and said he would be “happy to take it up with your head office and shareholders”.
After an investigation was carried out by SYSTRA, Dennis was offered a financial settlement to leave SYSTRA which had a confidentiality clause attached to it. However, Dennis did not sign and was dismissed by SYSTRA on July 8.
It is understood by RAIL that neither Network Rail or the Office of Rail and Road were approached by either Gareth Dennis or The Independent before the newspaper published the original article.
The new Shadow Secretary for Transport and Conservative MP, Helen Whately has weighed in on the row. Whately tweeted to her followers on X that "Labour and Lord Hendy have serious questions to ask about this. Threatening their employer and getting them sacked is the last thing a Government minister should do."
Whately also shared a letter with her followers which she has sent to the Cabinet Office. In the letter, Whately has asked several questions on what exactly the Department for Transport knew about the situation before they appointed Lord Hendy in July.
In a statement, Network Rail said: “The rail regulator’s concerns raised in September 2023 about passenger congestion at Euston station were addressed and put to bed in December 2023, months before the Independent piece was published.
“Decisions on how employee conduct is handled is a matter for employers – in this case, Systra.”
ORR clarified with RAIL, the processes which it undertook with Network Rail on its improvement notice. It said that inspectors had found issues with Euston station in its initial inspection in September 2023. However, Network Rail conducted a risk assessment on traffic flows and overcrowding which satisfied ORR and eventually the notice was closed out by ORR.
A spokesperson for ORR told RAIL: “There is a long-term plan to improve management of passenger flow at the station. We continue to hold the station to account through routine liaison with Network Rail and the train operating companies.”
A spokesperson for SYSTRA Ltd said: "We are unable to comment on individual staff matters other than to confirm that a thorough investigation was carried out."
Comment as guest
Comments
No comments have been made yet.