Alok Sharma (pictured), Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), issued a ministerial direction to make the payment go through yesterday, the last day before the UK Parliament rises for its summer break.
Sharma issued the direction to overturn the advice of Sam Beckett, the senior civil servant in his department. Timing of the order means parliamentarians have no chance to question the deal.
Indian operator Airtel is also planning to invest $500 million in OneWeb, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Darren Jones, the Member of Parliament who chairs the parliamentary committee overseeing Sharma’s department, said this “heightens concerns around this investment and about the prospects of this delivering UK jobs and value for taxpayers’ money”.
But in a carefully worded letter, Beckett made clear her objections: “There was insufficient time to make a full assessment of the proposed investment and enough uncertainty around the potential return for the UK that meant it was not possible for me to assure Parliament that the investment represents value for money to the standards expected by managing public money,” she wrote.
“That is not to say that it may not prove to be value for money in time. Work continues to ensure that a deal offers not only a commercial return but also helps to realise the broader potential opportunities and benefits to the UK. The process and decision-making around the investment remained confidential whilst a bid was being finalised.”
Beckett wrote a letter to Sharma himself, an unusual step as normally the civil service head of a department and the political head would work alongside each other – something that highlights her serious concern.
She wrote of “a very broad range of uncertainties and possible outcomes around this case”, adding that it is “hard at this time to be confident”. Beckett noted that the UK Space Agency (UKSA) had highlighted “the substantial technical and operational hurdles that OneWeb would need to overcome in order to become a viable and profitable business”, and had warned of “a high likelihood of further investment being required to complete the constellation and encourage user uptake of the services”. That increased the risk that more UK Government investment would be needed.
