Comment from The Northern Echo - Answers still awaited

The TDC will always have the transformation of Hartlepool and much of the Tees corridor as a legacy of its reign between 1987 and 1998. But there will always be doubts over whether the £200m of public money it spent during that period could have been put to better use.

While those issues may continue to be the subject of debate, they will never be resolved.

What must be resolved, however, are the allegations of irregularities which have refused to fade away since the TDC was wound up four years ago.

The report published today by the National Audit Office adds substance to these allegations.

Its reference to payments made by the TDC in the last days of its existence is a matter of grave concern.

It is regrettable that, while Teesside is attempting to embark on a new era of economic and social re-development, attention is still being focused on a quango which ceased to exist four years ago.

While it may be tempting to leave the past behind to concentrate on the future, it is not in the public interest to do so. We must not lose sight of the fact that a great deal of trust was placed in the TDC by allowing it to spend millions of pounds of public money.

The report from the National Audit Office casts doubt over whether that trust was well-placed.

We need to know answers to the many legitimate questions raised about the management of the TDC.

Starting with the appearance of TDC chief executive Duncan Hall before the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on Monday, we hope satisfactory answers can be obtained swiftly.

The performance of the Department of Environment, which had ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the TDC, must also come under intense scrutiny.

The Department was, four years ago, in possession of the same accounts, which are the subject of such a damning report by the National Audit Office.

We need know why the Department either failed to detect irregularities or chose to overlook them.