GOVERNMENT DUMPS SPY FIRM
Under-fire spy firm Thompson & Clark has been dumped as a preferred supplier to Government agencies.
The security firm was on an all-of-Government procurement panel, making them a preapproved provider of protective security.
But a Government inquiry has censured a number of agencies for using external security consultants. The report found earthquake victims were potentially illegally recorded at a private meeting. Public servants were also moonlighting for Thompson & Clark and passing on sensitive Government data.
State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes asked the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to remove the firm from its procurement panel.
A spokeswoman for MBIE confirmed: ‘‘On 18 December 2018 [Thompson & Clark] were served with a notice to terminate their position on the All of Government (AoG) contract for Consultancy Services.
‘‘No Government agencies have transacted through TCIL since they joined the AoG contract in December 2017.’’
The inquiry covered 131 state sector agencies and uncovered failings across the entire sector, including multiple breaches of a code of conduct.
That includes police, and Maritime NZ and Ministry for Primary Industries staff moonlighting for the firm, using Government resources and passing on private information. The report, by Doug Martin and Simon Mount, QC, found Thompson & Clark and other security firms were hired extensively throughout the public service. A number of contracts involved surveillance. Thompson & Clark also had cosy relationships with a number of public servants. MBIE came in for stinging criticism for not maintaining a professional distance, a perception of bias and poor regulatory practice. The inquiry found Thompson & Clark conducted ‘‘large-scale surveillance’’ of Greenpeace, through watching it and searches of Government databases. The firm searched motor vehicle and driver licence databases, run by NZTA, saying it did so on behalf of police and MBIE but that is denied by both agencies.
Thompson & Clark was allowed to search the motor vehicle register for restricted reasons, but the report says its access likely falls outside the permitted purposes set down in law. In 2017, the firm applied for renewed – and broader – access but NZTA staff raised concerns and as a result its access was blocked.