• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

Yes. I would like to know exactly how you carried out your investigation; for example, did you interview the whistleblower, Brenda Stern, as to the allegations which she made and which were repeated in the Evening Standard?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

Just to clear up the point about when the report was released I think it went to the Board at 9 am or so and the press release came out 3 pm or 4 pm. I could not get the report itself off the LDA website until close to 7 pm on a Friday evening.

• Question by: Bob Blackman
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

How are you going to conduct this sampling process?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

That is right. Mr Lewis, who drew up and authorised the issue of the press release?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

Further discussions on a broader basis will take place with a more limited number of organisations, is that correct?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

You then you go on to say, in fairness to you, 'Subject to that further work' ' subject to that ' 'the review to date has not revealed evidence of fraud' etc. That is all subject to that further work being required, as you fairly stated in your report to the Board?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

Mr Lewis, I take it you had read the report?

• Question by: Sally Hamwee
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

That is fine. I am happy with that. I take your word but it does seem as though what you have done is a sort of desk-based exercise, very internally focused. Here are the people who awarded the contracts doing the investigation. There seems to be a certain amount of independence lacking, if I could put it that way.

• Question by: Tony Arbour
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

So you are telling the Assembly that, simply based on the information that you held in your records, on the assumption that all of your records were complete, you were able to come to a conclusion with regard to what Brenda Stern said, that as far as you were concerned there is no case to answer? Would not the obvious thing for you to have done have been to go to the source of the allegations? Is that not an elementary thing to do? Why did you limit your investigation just to the material which you say that you hold?

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 16 January 2008

Understood. Then, quite separately, as you also point out in your report, there is a separate police investigation into the Green Badge Taxi School which you are cooperating with?