CSC seeks Cameron clarification

Mike Laphen, CEO of embattled NPfIT supplier CSC, has attempted to brush off Prime Minister David Cameron's critical comments on his firm's performance.

During Prime Minister's Questions this week, Cameron, responding to an enquiry by campaigning MP Richard Bacon, told the House UKHMG will not sign any new contract with CSC before the completion of a number of government and parliamentary reviews.

CSC had been expressing confidence to the all-important audience of US financial analysts that it was on track to resolve all its issues with the UK government, and indeed move to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with Francis Maude's Cabinet Office.

But Laphen's emoluments were then thrown into question by Cameron's telling MPs he was "very concerned" that the troubled £12.7 billion National Programme for IT represents poor value for money and pledged that "all available options" would be considered - up to and including sacking suppliers.

So Laphen had to go into spin mode during a conference call with the Wall St crowd as news of Cameron's critique was emerging, reassuring his listeners the statement contained "nothing new".

"What Prime Minister Cameron said was that CSC's deal would not be signed until the proper reviews were completed. That is the same thing we have said all along [and] those reviews are taking place this month. So we hope to bring this to a conclusion fairly rapidly."

Laphen went on to say that he "personally believes" that the NHS and the Department of Health support his company signing the putative Memorandum of Understanding signing, that they "support the realignment of the [NPfIT]" and "understand the value and the benefits that this programme will deliver to the citizens of the UK but we have to go through this review process".

He did at least have the grace to say having the Prime Minister of one of your biggest national clients criticise you hadn't been pleasant:  "It wasn't the best day for us to have this happen". 

But, he added, "Maybe it was [good] because we get a chance to talk about it frankly rather than trying to answer it in bits and pieces".

Laphen concluded by promising the analysts he is looking for an official statement that will "clarify" Cameron's attack.