- John Bourn
Sir John Bourn, then an officer of the
British House of Commons , was holder of the office ofComptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and, as such, head of the National Audit Office. He took up his post in 1988 after a series of senior appointments in the Ministry of Defence and theNorthern Ireland Office . OnOctober 25 2007 , his office announced that he would step down early in 2008 after 20 years in the job to avoid any conflicts of interest with other posts he holds.The decision followed criticism from opposition parties and the media over Bourn's high spending, such as a recent overseas trip that ran up taxpayer costs of more than £16,000. His expenses and conducts have frequently been highlighted in the satirical magazine "
Private Eye ". In September 2008 the magazine published a special report, 'The Bourn Complicity', alleging that under his leadership numerous government expenditure failings escaped scrutiny while Bourn (frequently accompanied by his wife) went on unnecessary and extravagant foreign trips, and accepted lavish hospitality from contractors.Bourn said in a statement he would retire on
January 31 ,2008 in order to avoid any conflict with his post as chairman of theProfessional Oversight Board , a body that oversees professional accountancy bodies.Bourn has been a
visiting professor at theLondon School of Economics since 1983, [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Sir John Bourn | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/hongrads/1995/bourn | work =Brunel University | pages = | accessdate = 2007-05-26 | language = ] and is also a governor of the School.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Sir John Bourn KCB | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.nao.org.uk/conferences/biographies/bourn.htm | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-05-28 | language = ] In March 2006 he was appointed "independent advisor on ministerial interests" byTony Blair , to advise ministers on potential clashes between their public duties and private affairs, and to investigate any claims that the rules have been broken.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=£336,000 worth of travel expenses for civil servant paid to advise on saving money | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=454244&in_page_id=1770&ICO=NEWS&ICL=TOPART | work =The Mail | pages = | accessdate = 2007-05-26 | language = ] However this appointment was revoked following the controversy around the C&AG's travel expenditure.Early years
Bourn attended Southgate County School from 1945-1951. [http://www.southgatecountyschool.co.uk/pupils.php Southgate County School notable former pupils] Accessed
4 July 2007 .]Criticism
Foreign Travel
The National Audit Office carries out a small amount of work in the field of international audits, worth about £4m in revenue per year, and which according to "Private Eye" make a net loss. Bourn came under criticism for the extent and extravagance of his overseas travel arising from this work. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that, in the three years to March 2007, Bourn made 43 overseas visits; "Private Eye" claimed this was far more than the revenue generated would justify, and that in many cases more junior staff should have gone instead. On 22 of these trips, Bourn was accompanied by his wife Ardita. He claimed £336,000 in travel expenses in addition to his £164,430 salary.
Records show that he stayed almost exclusively in five star hotels, such as the
Hotel Sacher inVienna , the Astoria inSt Petersburg , theGresham Palace hotel inBudapest and theBalmoral Hotel inEdinburgh . Bourn's flights were exclusively first class on long haul andbusiness class on shorter visits [.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Who guards Britain's auditing guardian? | date= | publisher= | url =http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_m_z/andreas_whittam_smith/article2539342.ece | work =The Independent | pages = | accessdate = 2007-05-27 | language = ] He also travelled toCroatia ,Turkey ,Jordan andBulgaria for discussions or the launch of twinning projects involving co-operation between the NAO and other state audit offices. The records show that the couple enjoyed a week-long stay in theBahamas in 2006 to attend the Caribbean Organisation of State Audit Offices Congress.A spokesman for Bourn claimed that he normally stayed at hotels which were "recommended by the host organisation" [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title= Auditor General's luxury hotel bills under fire | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/24/nbourn24.xml | work =The Telegraph | pages = | accessdate = 2007-05-27 | language = ] , however an investigation by
The Daily Telegraph suggested that on several of the most expensive trips, no such recommendations were made. Bourn's expenses emerged after afreedom of information request byPrivate Eye magazine, which said that his expenses were far in excess of what would a senior civil servant would have been permitted.Chauffeur
It emerged that Bourn rode to and from his office in
Victoria, London in achauffeur driven vehicle at the taxpayers' expense. The financial cost of this is unknown due to it being funded directly from the consolidated fund and therefore not being included within the NAO's accounts [ cite journal|title=Chauffeur government|journal=Private Eye |date= 2007-07-20|first=|last=|coauthors=|volume=1189|issue=|pages=29|id= |url=|format=|accessdate=2007-07-18] .Additionally, the personal benefit to his wife of NAO-funded travel had not been fully accounted for. WhenHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs investigated these as taxable benefits, Bourn was found liable for 6 years of unpaid taxes; the outstanding sum of about £100,000 (including a fine) was settled by the NAO out of taxpayers' money. [ cite journal|title=The Bourn Complicity|journal=Private Eye |date= 2008-09-05|first=Richard |last=Brooks|coauthors=|volume=|issue=1218|pages=8 page special inserrt|id= |url=|format=|accessdate=2008-09-05]ee also
References
External links
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/07/23/ccliam23.xml Interview with Sir John Bourn]
Persondata
NAME= Bourn, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= ex head of the National Audit Office
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.