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Don't demonise G4S and Serco, CBI says

Tuesday, 19 November 2013

In advance of the appearance of G4S, Serco, Capita and Atos senior executives before the Commons Public Accounts Committee tomorrow, CBI Director General John Cridland has warned that criticism of the companies threatens to undermine a 'great British export success'.

According to The Financial Times, Mr Cridland said:

'The rhetoric risks damaging a market which is hugely important to the future of this country and a fast-growing part of Britain’s economic renaissance. I’m proud of these companies that have grown out of nowhere and exported that to the rest of the world.'

Earlier this year campaign group Birmingham Against The Cuts warned that in the future it would be possible to be 'arrested by a G4S cop, taken to a G4S police station where a G4S duty solicitor will see you, to court represented by a G4S legal aid solicitor... before being taken from the courts by G4S security officers to a G4S prison before finally being passed on to a G4S probation officer'.

For more on G4S check out this recent Financial Times profile of the company.

Serco and G4S are currently facing a Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations that they overcharged on electronic monitoring contracts. Richard Garside assesses the National Audit Office report on the G4S and Serco electronic monitoring contracts here.

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