I read, as did Deputies Stagg and Jim Higgins, various newspaper reports about Connex. Indeed, Deputy Higgins brought these reports to our attention. As this was prior to the contract being allocated I attributed these to a dirty tricks campaign by people who feared they would not get the contract. Since then, officials in my Department and in the Rail Procurement Agency have gone to London and Sweden to look at how Connex is doing business there. In parts of the UK the outcome is not very desirable but in those places the company did not take over a greenfield operation. In Sweden and another Nordic country the company's operations have received accolades. The reports on Connex are mixed, as Deputy Stagg says. I did not allocate the contract to Connex. That was done by an independent outside group.