Bidder dobs self in

There is probably more to this than meets the eye, but on face value, you have to admire the principled action taken by this preferred bidder.

Search and rescue helicopter bid process is halted

the preferred supplier, Soteria, admitted it had access to commercially sensitive information.

The Department for Transport and Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the preferred supplier would not be used.

In a statement to Parliament regarding the £6bn procurement programme, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: "In mid December, the Preferred Bidder in the SAR-H competition, Soteria, had come forward to inform the government of irregularities regarding the conduct of their bid team which had only then recently come to light.

"The irregularities included access by one of the consortium members, CHC Helicopter, to commercially sensitive information regarding the joint MOD/DfT project team's evaluations of industry bids and evidence that a former member of that project team had assisted the consortium in its bid preparation, contrary to explicit assurances given to the project team."

MORE: As I noted above, there would likely be more to this story. Evidently, this is having major ramifications, based on a report in the Financial Times, which says:

Cancelling the privatisation will also require the government to put in place some potentially costly interim measures to provide a continuation of service. Depending on the length of delay, this could include an upgrade to extend the air life of the existing Sea King helicopter fleet.

It will also amplify calls for a review of MoD rules on the employment of civil servants and military officers by defence companies during sensitive commercial competitions.

FT's report contains much more detail of the players and consequences of the situation. The Wall Street Journal also reported on the story, impressed by the size of the project and the global players involved in it.