Insider Media Limited

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce has called on transport secretary Philip Hammond to open up to public scrutiny his claim that awarding the lucrative Thameslink contract to Siemens instead of Bombardier provided the best value for UK taxpayers.

The chamber submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Treasury asking the government to disclose its calculations to back up the conclusion.

Last month, it was announced Derby-based Bombardier had been rejected in favour of German company Siemens to build and maintain 1,200 carriages for the government's Thameslink upgrade.

Bombardier them revealed it would axe 1,400 jobs at the Derby plant as a direct result of the contract loss.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber, said: "The line that ministers have consistently peddled since the Thameslink decision was announced is that the Siemens bid provided the best value for UK taxpayers. However, the chamber is not alone in its belief that this claim does not hold water.

"So, the chamber is challenging the government to prove this claim is true by releasing full details about the total values of the tenders submitted by Bombardier and Siemens to see how much they differed in terms of price and value.

"If the government can’t do that, then it should immediately withdraw its claim and instead explain why it awarded the contract to a German-led consortium instead of the UK’s last remaining train maker, a move which – as this analysis demonstrates - is clearly not in the national interest and goes against everything this government has said about supporting British industry, manufacturing and exports."