BT to sue council over "unlawful" contract termination

Essex County Council IT to be brought back in-house after scrapping outsourcing deal

BT says it will sue

BT says it is suing Essex County Council after the supplier claimed that the local authority terminated its IT outsourcing contract illegally.

Essex brought in BT four years ago in a bid to save money, but council leaders have decided to end the arrangement and bring IT back in-house.

A spokesman for BT said: "We are disappointed Essex County Council has unlawfully terminated our contract. Having discussed the position with our lawyers, we can confirm we will be seeking substantial damages."

The contract still had three and a half years to run.

Public sector union Unison claimed that the authority stood to lose millions of pounds after ditching the deal.

In a report last year, Unison said that council staff were unhappy with the way the work was being carried out by BT.

A spokesman for the council said:

"Essex County Council is determined to deliver better services at a better price for Essex taxpayers. We also will act decisively when we judge that any contract is not delivering value for money and will take appropriate action. This is not something we will shy away from nor avoid."