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by Rachel Robson

‘Building companies have been overcharging local councils? I’m shocked, shocked,’ says David Wighton of The Times, with a generous hint of sarcasm, after allegations of bid rigging on

public sector contracts against 112 construction companies.

He continues: ‘Next they’ll be suggesting that not all secondhand car dealers are entirely candid about their motors’ past.’ Wighton also points out that ‘some of the sector’s big names are missing from the list’ but that ‘given the apparently endemic culture of collusion in the industry this may be more down to luck than anything else.’

Meanwhile, Richard Fletcher from The Telegraph comments that the Office of Fair Trading is revealing little about whether it will be sympathetic, ‘but with 77 effectively pleading guilty to breaches of competition rules in the hope of leniency it seems likely that there will be more than a slap on the wrist for the offenders.’

Fletcher argues that the main worry is that ‘local authorities and other public bodies will use the OFT list to punish the companies and bar them from tenders,’ and concludes that it would be ‘far better for them to use the ammunition to get a better deal.’

Wighton also points out that the threat of companies finding themselves banned from bidding for future public-sector work ‘could not come at a more difficult time for the construction industry, which is struggling with its lowest level of orders in a decade’. Wighton believes their ‘best hope’ might be that with many large projects still in the pipeline, including Olympics-related development, the public-sector can ‘ill-afford to start banning any of the leading companies from bidding for work.’ He concludes: ‘Tough action is clearly needed if the industry is going to shake off its cowboy image.’