Government takes over running Southeastern services after "serious breach" of franchise agreement

Video report by ITV News Meridian's Kit Bradshaw

The Government is to take over running services on train operator Southeastern after a "serious breach" of its franchise agreement.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said an investigation by his department identified evidence that since October 2014 the company has not declared more than £25 million of historic taxpayer funding which should have been returned.

Further investigations are being conducted and the Government said it will consider options for more action, including financial penalties.

Mr Shapps said: "There is clear, compelling and serious evidence that LSER have breached the trust that is absolutely fundamental to the success of our railways. When trust is broken, we will act decisively.

"The decision to take control of services makes unequivocally clear that we will not accept anything less from the private sector than a total commitment to their passengers and absolute transparency with taxpayer support.

"Under the new operator, we will prioritise the punctual, reliable services passengers deserve, rebuild trust in this network, and the delivery of the reforms set out in our Plan for Rail - to build a modern railway that meets the needs of a nation."

Southeastern is run by Govia and operates services across south east England, covering London, Kent, East Sussex and the High Speed 1 Lines.

Manuel Cortes, General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association said: "The days of rail franchising must now be well and truly over. Time and time again we see the private sector fail and taxpayers ride to the rescue.

"We need the Government to dump the failed franchise system, end the profiteering of the train operating companies and take over the whole thing, lock stock and rails.

"There's no time to wait for the implementation of the half-baked Williams-Shapps plan, or so-called Great British Railways pie in the sky from this Tory Government.

"Our union will now be seeking assurances that this mess in no way impacts our members' jobs because so many of them have been true heroes on the frontline of the pandemic since day one.

"Passengers at Southeastern and right across our rail network need services they can trust and a railway that works for them, rather than private profit."

Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Lynch said: "This latest public sector rescue of a privately operated rail service should kill off the risky and expensive nonsense of rail privatisation once and for all.

"It appears that this collapse is all about Govia playing fast and loose with their financial commitments and raises serious questions about the viability of their other operations including the busy Thameslink services.

"It's time to put the rest of Britain's failing private rail operations out of their misery, cut out the middleman and build a public railway that's fit for a green, post-Covid future."

The Government will take over running services on Southeastern from October 17, saying a serious breach of the franchise agreement's "good faith" obligation in relation to financial matters was identified.

Ministers stressed the announcement will have no impact on frontline staff, who they said have been at the frontline of delivering services throughout the Covid pandemic.

"The decision is no reflection on their professionalism and dedication and will not affect jobs," said the Department for Transport.

A brief statement on Southeastern's website said: "Our passengers will see no change in our day-to-day operations.

"All tickets will remain valid after transfer and new tickets can continue to be purchased in the usual way."

A spokesperson for Go Ahead said: "Although the independent review is ongoing and the contracts concerned are highly complex, the Group acknowledges that errors have been made in relation to the franchise.

"The Group has repaid the £25 million referred to in the DfT's statement of this morning and will provide a detailed update on further liabilities in its full-year results."

The Go-Ahead Group's Chairman, Clare Hollingsworth, said: "It has always been this Group's intention to provide the best possible public transport, and to work in partnership with the Government and related agencies.

"We recognise that mistakes have been made and we sincerely apologise to the DfT. We are working constructively with the DfT towards a settlement of this matter."