Political ReporterAn all-party committee of MPs is investigating last month's
London Stock Exchange computer crash.
They are to quiz stock exchange bosses and may call executives
from Andersen Consulting which installed and manage the system.
The Commons Treasury Committee is deeply concerned by the
failure of the stock exchange's IT systems on the last day of the
tax year. The committee fears the crash will badly damage the City
of London's reputation as a leading player in the international
money market and wants evidence that steps are being taken to
ensure against further failures.
So far the committee has scheduled a session when it will
cross-examine London Stock Exchange chairman Sir John Kemp Welch,
chief executive Gavin Casey, finance and operations director
Jonathan Howell and business development director Martin
Wheatley.
Former Tory minister Michael Fallon said the failure must never
be allowed to recur. He is one of several committee members
pressing for Andersen's representatives to explain what went
wrong.
Labour MP Jim Cousins wants to know what happened to cause the
trading platform to crash and was "very concerned'' about Andersen
Consulting's role in the events. He echoed Fallon's concerns in
warning that London's international position had been damaged by
the fiasco and that there must never be a repeat of the
circumstances which led to the crash.