the guardian newspaper 04.10.2012

* ‘Please, please help find her’ April’s mother makes appeal Virgin back on track in rail shambles • FirstGroup takeover of west coast line halted • Officia ls suspe nde d • £40m bill for taxpayer Gwyn Topham and Dan Milmo The Department for Transport has been left reeling after three senior civil servants were suspended over the collapse of the west coast main line franchise deal, leav- ing Britain’s most lucrative train service in limbo and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin grouptriumphantlyvindicated. Shortly after midnight yesterday, the government was forced to concede that serious flaws meant the competition to operate the west coast line would have to be re-run, less than two months after FirstGroup had triumphed over Virgin Rail with a multibillion-pound bid. The newly appointed transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, who had previ- ously defended the bidding process in par- liament as fair and robust, announced a pause in the franchising programme while the entire system was reviewed. McLoughlin said he was angry and admitted the fault lay “only and squarely within the Department for Transport”, adding that the mistakes were “deeply regrettableand unacceptable ”. Taxpayers will pick up an immediate £40m bill for compensating the four short- listed companies that bid for the west coast franchise. Beyond the compensa- tion bill for those companies and others involved in franchise auctions that will now be paused, the department may also find itself a hostage to the operators run- ning the rest of Britain’s railways, as the timetable for renewing contracts slips. An industry source said: “I think they have no option but to extend franchises that are next for renewal. It will cost them a fortune.” Virgin Trains, which looked set for imminent extinction, is now confident it will be allowed to run the west coast service in the interim, and Branson said he hoped a new, transparent process would mean his company could also soon target the east coast line again. It has emerged that the previous transport secretary, Justine Greening, had ordered an investigation in late August when she was first informed by officials that a “small procedural error” may have occurred. She is said to be “fully support- ive” of McLoughlin’s targeting of officials, who she believes suppressed information when giving categorical assurances that Virgin had no basis for a legal appeal. But the news raises the question of whether ministers were reshuffled by David Cameron last month in part to save them from resigning. Greening’s then dep- uty, the new Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers, was a major propone nt of controversial longer franchises and took the decision to give the west coast franchise to FirstGroup. Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle said: “The prime minister should come clean on when he knew, and on any connection with the decision to conduct a wholesale clearout of Tory transport ministers before this fiasco became public.” The DfT discovered the flaws as it was preparing to contest the judicial review Steven Morris The mother of the missing schoolgirl April Jones yesterday made an agonising appeal for help in finding her daughter. Trying vainly to hold back tears, Coral Jones, 40, expressed despair that the five-year -old had been taken from her and begged for any information that might lead to getting her back. “There must be somewhere out there who knows where she is and can help the police find her,” she said. “We are desperate for any news. April is only five years old.” Her voice broke as she added: “Please, please, help find her.” She then collapsed into sobs and buried her head in her hands. April’s mother spoke at a police press conference in Aberystwyth, mid-Wales, 18 miles from Machynlleth, where emer- gency services workers continued to search riverbanks, fields and hillsides. Behind her were images of her daughter, one in a pink party dress, one in the purple coat she was wearing when she was apparently abducted on Monday as she played on the street with friends. Also pinned up was an image of the man arrested on suspicion of her abduction, Mark Bridger, a 46-year-old who lives locally and is known to April’s family. Police asked for help estab- lishing his movements. April’s family last night confirmed reports that she has cerebral palsy but declined to comment further. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA 3≥ Go to work, they said to a woman who needs constant care R uth Anim needs constant one-to-one care, has no concept of danger and attends life skills classes to learn practical things like how to make a sandwich or a cup of tea. So it came as a considerable surprise to her mother, Cecilia, that an official asses sment of her daughter’s abilitie s classified her as someone who would be capable of finding work in the near future. The report contained factual errors, perhaps most remarkably the asses- who carried out the test: “I advise that a return to work could be considered within 12 months.” Anim says: “For Ruth to go to work is actually totally unimaginable. She can’t even cross the road without someone going with her; she doesn’t know that if a car hits you it will kill you; she has no concept of danger.” Her daughter was born with complex medical needs, learning disabilities, a heart problem and epilepsy. “She is somebody who has a one-to-one carer – is she meant to go to work with her carer?” As a result of the assessment, Ruth larly to begin mandatory preparation s for going to work. Cecilia Anim’s amazement at the written report, describing her daughter’s work capability assessment (WCA), the test to determine fitness for work, echoes the shock felt by hun- dreds of thousands of former claim- ants of incapacity benefit over the last three years, after undergoing the strin- gent new computerised test to check their continued eligibility for benefit payments. Since the test was introduced in 2008 more than 600,000 people have A nurses’ leader was told to take her disabled daughter for a test to see if she could get a job. The result left her shocked and angry, writes • Officials reali sed they were defending the indefensible Page 6 ≥ • What does this mean for customers and will this lead to higher fares? Page 6 ≥ • The transport secretary arguably has more power over Britain’s railways now than at any time in history Page 7 ≥ • There is support at the top for the idea of a gradual return to a form of public ownership. The argument needs to be made now Leader comment, page 34 ≥ Inside ≥ £1.20 Thursday 04.10.12 Published in London and Manchester Balotelli to the rescue Last-minute leveller saves City Best bar none London is cocktail capital of the world Private, provocative, prolific Caryl Churchill by Mark Lawson guardian.co.uk wson Suzanne Moore Kira Cochrane Zoe Williams Martin Kettle Henry Porter John Crace

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