Unite has shared with police two independent reports into the development of a nearly £100m hotel and conference center in Birmingham after they revealed what the union said were “very serious concerns about potential crime”.
The union’s plan to build the 170-room complex – which began under former general secretary Len McCluskey – was forecast in 2015 to cost around £35m, but is now expected to reach £98m.
Sharon Graham, who took over from McCluskey last year, commissioned two reports on the project, one from a senior solicitor and another from accountancy firm Grant Thornton.
On Thursday, the union said both reports would be shared with police and not be made public while officials investigate what they uncovered.
A Unite spokesman said Graham had commissioned a report by Martin Bowdery KC looking at why the project went over budget and then an “external forensic investigation into Unite-related service providers”.
The spokesman said: “Due to very serious concerns about potential crime that have been raised, both reports are now being shared with the police. Police have asked Unite not to disclose the content of the reports pending investigations. While they continue, Unite will make no further comment.
“The Secretary-General is committed to doing everything in his power to recover any money lost, by any means necessary, and to hold everyone accountable.”
In April, South Wales Police and HM Revenue and Customs raided Unite’s central London offices as part of an investigation into allegations of bribery, fraud and money laundering linked to the hotel project.
Sources said contracts related to the center were part of their inquiries. Police seized files and a computer from the union office and also searched a number of other addresses in South Wales, Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Greater London and Northamptonshire.
A leaked document seen by the Guardian in January 2021 showed that a project which in 2015 was reported to have been budgeted at £35m had by then cost the union £74m. The current total budget is estimated at £98 million, with some reports suggesting the cost of the complex could be around £30 million less.
In January 2021, McCluskey told a meeting of the union’s executive board that costs had risen because of the union’s promise to hire workers who were union members, avoiding the involvement of companies that had a history of blacklisting, directly hiring workers and pay them at least at the national level of pay rates.
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