CalMac boss quits in £13k expenses row

Published on Saturday 6 March 2010 18:12

A SENIOR executive at the CalMac ferry company has resigned after Scotland on Sunday revealed he had been forced to repay nearly £13,000 in expenses.

Alan Moffat, the head of human resources at the state ferry giant, stood down last week following months away from his desk on sick leave.

The 54-year-old manager was said to be leaving Caledonian MacBrayne, which is owned by the Scottish Government, "to pursue new career challenges".

Scotland on Sunday understands he has not been seen at CalMac's Gourock headquarters since Christmas.

Moffat sparked widespread resentment in the company when he kept his job after details of what independent accountants called "irregular" expenses emerged. He was allowed to stay on after receiving a final warning about his behaviour from senior officials.

An official spokesman for David MacBrayne, CalMac's parent company, yesterday made what was described as "an agreed statement".

He said: "The company has accepted the resignation of its human resources director, Alan Moffat, with effect from 28 February, 2010.

"The company respects Alan's decision to pursue new career challenges."

However, his colleagues were informed of his departure in an e-mail memo distributed to all staff only on Friday evening. The memo "acknowledged" the contribution Moffat had made to the massive restructuring that has taken place at David MacBrayne and CalMac since he joined the firm, as an industrial relations expert, in 2002.

Some CalMac officials, however, expressed concern about the way Moffat had left the company. One said: "It is strange that someone who has been off sick for the last two months should resign to pursue other career interests.

"It's disappointing that he has been allowed to walk away on his terms."

Moffat's resignation follows the announcement that the chief executive of David MacBrayne is to retire before the summer.

Lawrie Sinclair will leave after running the company for a decade. David MacBrayne, though government-owned and in receipt of more than 80million in subsidies a year

, is run like a normal commercial company, overseen by non-executive directors appointed by the Scottish Government.

Moffat was ordered to pay back 12,899 late last year after independent forensic accountants from audit firm KPMG investigated what were described as "irregular expenses".

Over three years, Moffat had charged more than 5,000 in takeaway meals and 1,200 on off-licence bills to CalMac and used his corporate Mastercard to pay for his teenage son's application to university clearing system UCAS.

The accountants, in a report to CalMac managers and seen by Scotland on Sunday, were scathing about the state of Moffat's paperwork, stating: "Receipts were missing, had been altered or had no bearing in relation to the description or date provided on the expense claims."

They also highlighted claims for costs incurred in supermarkets, including Tesco, and takeaways they described as being "within close proximity" of Moffat's large house in the Glasgow suburb of Bearsden.

Accountants stressed that some claims were written up as being for meals taken on week days. But the receipts were dated for weekends or evenings. Some were made out to Moffat's wife Jillian.

Expenses were made for visits to McDonald's, Domino's Pizza and, frequently, the off-licence Victoria Wine on weekends. Other expenses queried by the KPMG accountants were 1,750 for five-star hotels, including a bill of more than 900 made up to Moffat's wife, and 137 for a crystal figurine from jewellery firm Swarovski.

David MacBrayne last year said it had accepted Moffat's explanation for how he came to make the claims. Speaking after Moffat's expenses were revealed by Scotland on Sunday, a company spokesman said: "We are entirely satisfied that there was no intention to defraud." But he also added that Moffat had accepted that some of his claims were "inappropriate".

David MacBrayne says some of its expenses procedures have been revised on KPMG's advice.