Transport Secretary: Rail franchise process 'was flawed'

An interim investigation into the West Coast Main Line franchise process has found "significant errors", a "flawed process" and "inadequate planning".

The decision to award the multi-billion pound rail franchise to FirstGroup over Virgin was scrapped by the government on 2 October.

Giving a statement in the House of Commons, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin highlighted issues including a lack of transparency and inconsistencies in the treatment of bidders.