Scandal-hit train operator Go-Ahead blocks bonus of former boss

Scandal-hit train operator Go-Ahead has blocked the bonus of its former chief executive amid an embarrassing accounting scandal. 

David Brown will miss out on a £1.6million cash and shares package after the Gatwick Express owner opted to deny the awards. 

It follows a devastating period for the rail and bus firm which received more than £140million in Government Covid aid, through the furlough scheme and other support to keep transport services running. 

Derailed: David Brown will miss out on a £1.6million cash and shares package after the Gatwick Express owner opted to deny the awards

Passenger numbers dried up during the pandemic and trading in Go-Ahead shares was suspended in January after ‘serious’ financial failings. 

Brown announced his resignation in May and retired in November after picking up £11million over a decade running the company.   

Former finance chief Elodie Brian, who decided to quit in September, was also denied her bonus. 

Leanne Wood, chair of the company’s remuneration committee, said the taxpayer support and the decision not to award a 2021 dividend meant it had decided it was ‘inappropriate to allow the executive directors’ annual bonus to pay out’.

In September, shortly before Brown’s departure, Go-Ahead and its partner Keolis were sacked from operating Southeastern Trains. Go-Ahead had taken too much Government money without paying back excess profits – an agreement under the rail contract. 

Go-Ahead has put aside £30million to pay for an anticipated fine from the Department for Transport over the accounting error. It has also allocated £72.6million to redress the errors.