Call For Inquiry Into Government Funding Of Norton Motorcycles


The chair of parliament’s public accounts committee is calling for an investigation into the government’s funding of Norton Motorcycles and has accused officials of “blindly pouring” millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money into the motorbike firm before it went bust. Meg Hillier MP is to write to the department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS), as well as the Cabinet Office, to ask for an inquiry into the events leading up to the failure of the Leicestershire-based manufacturing company last month.
The motorcycle firm had also been funded via a £1m loan received directly from a separate fraud, as well as about £5m of government grants. Aside from the millions in taxpayer support given to Norton, the business also benefited from a string of then government ministers showering the firm with glowing endorsements or agreeing to photo opportunities with the Norton boss Stuart Garner, including the prime minister Theresa May, the chancellor George Osborne, the business secretary Vince Cable and the trade secretary Liam Fox.