Sweeping changes to the civil service demanded

Margaret Hodge today demanded sweeping changes to the civil service amid the West Coast main line rail fiasco.

The Labour MP, who chairs Westminster's powerful Public Accounts Committee, said the embarrassing and costly debacle exposed flaws in Whitehall processes.

The Institute for Government's director Peter Riddell said the scrapping of the franchise award "goes to the heart of the civil service's credibility and reputation for competence".