Stay home? Tycoon in 1,000-MILE trip to his Scots estate
Yet Sleeper boss Soames insists that he’s done nothing wrong!
THE boss of Caledonian Sleeper trains visited his Highland estate despite a Scottish Government ban on non-essential travel.
Rupert Soames, chief executive of Serco, which operates the ScotlandLondon service, travelled to his Camusrory Estate, north of Mallaig.
It means the 60-year-old made a roundtrip of around 1,000 miles between the Ross-shire property and the UK capital.
Mr Soames fitted in the estate visit after taking a train from London to Inverness on Tuesday. Serco said this had been arranged to allow him to meet frontline rail staff.
The executive, a grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, claimed he had interviewed candidates for a ‘vital’ job at Camusrory.
Mr Soames said: ‘I confirm that I visited a property I own on the West Coast of Scotland for a short time this week; the property is one of the most remote in Scotland, only accessible by boat, and I currently employ three people there.
‘The purpose of the visit, which was in my private time, was to conduct essential job interviews with candidates for the vacant position of resident manager, which is a vital role in such a remote community.
‘It would be impractical and irresponsible to employ someone for that role without meethe ing them. I believe the visit was essential for this small and remote community, and did not breach Scottish Government guidelines as it involves travel to and from a place of work, and could not have been conducted from home.’
Mr Soames insisted his journey to Inverness to visit Caledonian Sleeper’s ‘frontline staff and key workers’ was ‘essential’, but Transport Scotland, the Scottish Government agency to which Serco is answerable, said it was not aware of the trip.
Mick Hogg, of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said found the Serco chief’s visit to Inverness ‘astonishing’. He added: ‘Clearly, he seems oblivious to the guidance.’
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday: ‘If you live just south of the Border and you work in an essential job then that is perfectly legitimate.
‘But if you are coming to Scotland and are not covered by those essential purposes, then you potentially would be in breach of the law.’
Questions have been raised as to why Mr Soames did not speak to rail staff virtually.
A Serco spokesman said: ‘He has been visiting a number of frontline staff and key workers during the crisis, essential in his role as chief executive. He fiercely defends his decision to show solidarity with frontline workers and believes that hiding at home while others are expected to work... is not an appropriate style of leadership.’
The spokesman said the twoday trip was to ‘allow him to meet the guest services team in Inverness and four Caledonian Sleeper crews’.
He added: ‘Between times, he’s doing permitted activity, job interviews and contract visits.’
Mr Soames is not the first high-profile figure to be criticised over their actions during lockdown. Scotland’s former Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood quit after it emerged she had twice visited her holiday home in Fife.
And UK Government scientific adviser Professor Neil Ferguson resigned after allowing his lover to visit him at home.
‘Oblivious to the guidance’