HS2 regrets failure to protect key whistleblower who raised cost concerns
HS2 has said it regrets the treatment of a key whistleblower who was pushed out of the project after raising concerns that staff had artificially kept cost estimates low.
Stephen Cresswell, a former senior HS2 cost analyst, will receive a substantial compensation payout after HS2 admitted partial liability following a case for unfair dismissal at the Employment Tribunal, City PM understands.
The exact settlement has not yet been revealed – but will ultimately come from the taxpayer. It marks a first success from a whistleblower in a case against HS2.
HS2 Ltd said it was “regrettable” that Cresswell was not given the “appropriate level of protection” as a whistleblower after his contract came to an end in 2022.
But it added this did not mean any of “the specific allegations around cost estimating practises raised by Cresswell” had been accepted. It maintains no criminal activity related to Cresswell’s allegations took place.
A spokesperson told City PM the company was now “under new leadership and a comprehensive review of its skills and structures is being carried out.”
HS2 has faced a number of damning allegations from whistleblowers in recent years as costs surge to as high as £100bn. They range from outright fraud to accusations that staff who raised concerns internally were sacked without explanation.
In an interview with the Sunday Times in 2023, Cresswell alleged the organisation deployed a “classic playbook” used on major taxpayer-funded construction projects, by holding back accurate cost predictions to ensure government kept money flowing in.
Cresswell says he was ordered by senior officials to play down the costs of the now-scrapped Birmingham to Leeds leg of the route.
“I’m pleased that the employment tribunal process has concluded. In my opinion HS2 is not an organisation that should be trusted with public money,” Cresswell said.
“HS2 is destroying taxpayer value, a properly functioning administration would mothball the programme and undertake a full independent investigation.”
HS2’s new chief executive, Mark Wild, has committed to a “fundamental reset” of the project and is in the midst of a full review into cost and schedule.
It was revealed over the weekend HS2 Ltd had suspended a sub-contractor on the West Midlands section amid an investigation into fresh accusations of “large-scale” tax fraud.
A DfT spokesperson said: “We take all whistleblowing allegations seriously and it is important that individuals are given appropriate levels of protection, which clearly was not the case for Mr Cresswell.
“There is a lot of hard work still to do to get this project back on track, which is why we are overseeing a total reset of HS2, and reviewing the programme’s costs, schedule and culture.”