Byers to face MP's probe over rail company 'untruth'

Mr Justice Lindsay's view of Mr Byers' conduct came as he dismissed a claim from former Railtrack shareholders that the government had illegally conspired to push the rail firm into insolvency in the aftermath of the Hatfield rail crash of October 2000.

While the judge clearly backed the government over Railtrack's collapse, he left open the question of Mr Byers' honesty in evidence to parliament.

The judge said that, during cross-examination about his statements to MPs, Mr Byers had "descended to unreason", and his evidence seemed "little above gibberish".

The Tories will next week seek a Commons vote for a formal investigation of the former minister, trying to refer him to the standards and privileges committee.

But Mr Byers said yesterday's judgment constituted a "great victory". He hopes to pre-empt Tory attacks by making a personal apology to the Commons early next week.

The question of his integrity arises from his evidence to the court.

In cross-examination Mr Byers admitted giving an "untrue" answer to MPs on the transport select committee when he told it in November 2001 that he was not aware of a change in Railtrack's status being discussed in his department before 25 July, 2001. In fact, papers and e-mails from the Department for Transport showed officials had been discussing Railtrack's collapse over a month earlier.

Mr Byers could face censure or even suspension from the Commons.

Yesterday, he insisted he had not admitted lying to MPs. "At no time did I say that I had lied to the committee or deliberately misled it," Mr Byers said in a statement.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Lindsay roundly dismissed the shareholders' claim that ministers had destroyed Railtrack. The evidence, he said, showed the company was "frankly a mess" before Mr Byers took steps to have it put into administration in October 2001.

The only alternative would be for the government to fund Railtrack without limit and without condition, "a hopeless proposition".

Mr Justice Lindsay said evidence from John Robinson, a former Railtrack chairman, that the government had directly caused Railtrack's insolvency was "not acceptable".

He said: "Not only did he, in so saying, ignore his own evidence and that of others that without government support Railtrack was unable to pay its debts, but in any event a provider of funds does not create an insolvency by providing only that to which the recipient is entitled."

Alistair Darling, who succeeded Mr Byers in 2002, said the judgment "totally vindicates the government's position".

He said the evidence had shown the government was right to be concerned about Railtrack and put contingency plans in place.

But Geoffrey Weir, the former Railtrack engineer who led 49,000 individual investors in the biggest class action in British history, condemned the judgment as a "complete whitewash".

While Mr Justice Lindsay's ruling exonerated the government, it was less clear when it came to Mr Byers' conduct before parliament.

"He accepted to me that he had told an untruth, but that, of itself, does not brand him a liar, if a liar is someone who tells an untruth knowing it is untrue or being reckless as to its truth or falsity," the judge ruled.

Most damningly, the judge declined to draw a clear conclusion on Mr Byers' honesty before parliament: "Whether he was a liar within that meaning is not for me; I must leave it to the House of Commons," the judge said.

Alan Duncan, the Conservative shadow transport secretary, said that the case had shown that Mr Byers had not been fully honest with MPs about his treatment of Railtrack. "If he wanted to deprive it of money, he could have stood up in parliament and said so," Mr Duncan said. "But he didn't. This was done on the sly."

Despite the judge's ruling, Mr Duncan said, it was clear that Mr Byers had been guilty of "wrongdoing".

On Monday, Chris Grayling, the shadow leader of the House of Commons, will seek to force a vote on referring Mr Byers' case to the standards committee, which has the power to suspend him from the Commons.

The Tories say it would be "outrageous" if the government used its parliamentary majority to block such a referral.

Mr Byers last night insisted he would defend his reputation in parliament, with his defence hinging on the fine difference between an untruth and a lie.

"If something is untrue, it doesn't mean that you are lying or deliberately misleading," he said on Radio Four. "I did not lie or mislead the select committee."

Challenged about the near-gibberish cited by Mr Justice Lindsay, Mr Byers did concede: "My evidence was not as good as I had hoped it would be."

Mr Byers, the Labour MP for Tyneside North, quit the government in 2002 over allegations his aides had tried to smear survivors of the Paddington rail crash.

Ministers urged to remedy rail failings

MINISTERS have been urged to sort out failings with Scotland's rail network that have hit train punctuality improvements when they take control of track spending next week.

First ScotRail said yesterday it had reduced delays by 20 per cent since it took over a year ago, but nearly twice as many delays are caused by Network Rail, which runs tracks and signals.

First ScotRail has performed ten times better than the 2 per cent annual improvement required under its contract with the Scottish Executive.