Lib Dem MP Challegnes Parliamentary Ombudsman Over Equitable Life Faisco

12.00.00am GMT Tue 18th Nov 2003

Equitable Life policy holders have long awaited the meeting between the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, and the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee which took place yesterday.

The Committee last quizzed the Ombudsman about her investigation into the collapse of Equitable Life and the inquiry by Lord Penrose into the life insurer's demise last March, prior to the publication of the report in June.

Annette Brooke MP, who sits on the influential Select Committee, said:

"Many constituents who have lost out since the failure of Equitable are very concerned about the extent of maladministration both by the insurer's regulators, and within the company itself."

"I want to establish exactly who is responsible for the extraordinary collapse of such a large insurer, and why the Penrose Inquiry is so limited and taking so long."

Quizzing the Ombudsman, Annette Brooke asked a series of challenging questions on whether the Penrose Inquiry had adequate human resources to conduct its investigation, whether Ann Abraham felt that her office was sufficiently equipped to undertake such an inquiry, whether her office would investigate HM Treasury if it were found not to be responding adequately to the Penrose Inquiry.

For many policy holders, the Ombudsman's June report was a great disappointment concluding only that the City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, had not failed in its regulation of the insurance company and that it was not within the Ombudsman's remit to investigate further any maladministration by any government body of the regulation prior to 1999.

Annette Brooke also asked the Ombudsman why she had not looked into communication by the Treasury or the FSA of any financial problems at Equitable Life with other government departments, particularly in the period before 1999.

Constrained by time, Annette Brooke MP gave the Parliamentary Ombudsman a list of questions and urged her to respond in writing.

The Penrose Inquiry, an independent inquiry set up by the Treasury in 2001 conducted by Lord Penrose, has yet to report on 'the circumstances leading to the current situation of the Equitable Life Assurance Society'. The Ombudsman will not report further until the outcome of the Penrose Inquiry is known.