ECONOMIC SHOCKS AND TAKEOVERS

I was proud of the work BEIS did on individual corporate situations whilst I was Secretary of State.

British Steel, a vital employer in the North of England, with thousands employed directly, and many more in the supply chain, has been under an Official Receiver since before my time in BEIS.  I would dearly have loved to finalise the sale of British Steel to Jingye - a strong bidder for the whole business - on my watch.  The completion has not taken place and I am incredibly proud of the intense work the Steel Team, Minister Nadhim Zahawi and I put in to make it happen.

On Flybe, keeping critical routes flying and regional airports thriving was a top priority for me, and we worked flat out to find a way forward for the business that would avoid risk to the taxpayer whilst preserving vital connectivity. I am extremely concerned at the behaviour of the investors in pulling the plug when they did, and I believe in the need for better scrutiny and accountability of directors.

And on Thomas Cook, it was a great regret that there was no viable way to save the company from its debt mountain, but I am totally clear that the taxpayer must never become the ‘bail out of last resort’ for companies whose directors appear to have been incompetent.  With DWP, we did everything possible to support the staff who lost their jobs, and to help those whose insurance claims against the holiday company were affected and I was delighted when Hays Travel stepped in to buy the travel shops from the Receiver. 

There were a number of corporate takeovers that took place while I was SoS at BEIS, and a small number that I investigated under the Enterprise Act.  This Act provides a vital means to protect UK national security interests, as well as ensure fair competition.  The introduction of the National Security and Investment Bill later this year will provide a boost to the powers of the SoS to prevent takeovers that act against the UK’s interests, and I welcomed its inclusion in the Queen’s Speech.