Contractor

Australia’s Corporate Travel Management is ‘negotiating commercial arrangements’ to refund the moneyThe Australian company that ran the Bibby Stockholm asylum barge has admitted it overcharged the British government by £118m.Corporate Travel Management (CTM) said its auditor had found evidence of “erroneous billing” of its UK clients, increasing its estimate of how much it owes the government by £40m. Continue reading...

After Guardian reports about danger to V2X employees, sources say state department raised concerns with defense contractorSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US government has called on the defense contractor V2X to evacuate its employees from Kuwait and Iraq, warning the company that they could be targeted by Iran-backed militias, four sources said.The intervention follows reporting by the Guardian that V2X employees were stationed at US military bases in Kuwait, and at Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih airbase and Erbil in Iraq. Employees claimed having inadequate protections, receiving limited communications from the company about evacuation plans and being pressured to remain in the Middle East. In Iraq, workers say they are targets of Iran-allied attacks, and one employee was killed in a night-time drone attack in March. Continue reading...

Man working for V2X died in night attack as five sources say they are being placed in harm’s wayA man employed by the US defense contractor V2X has been killed in a drone attack on Erbil airbase, amid concerns from colleagues that they are being placed in harm’s way and pressured to remain in Iraq despite security risks, five sources said.The worker, from Kenya, died in a night attack in his sleeping quarters on the base on 24 March. Another five workers were injured. They are from Kenya and India, and are among a group of about 45 workers employed by V2X who have remained on the base. One of the workers is in a critical condition with severe burns, sources said. Continue reading...

Document shows partial felling last year, which led to legal action against Toby Carvery, was done by Ground ControlA mystery contractor who chainsawed an ancient oak in north London for the Toby Carvery restaurant chain has been identified by the Guardian, prompting more questions about the incident.The unauthorised partial felling of the 500-year-old oak a year ago on Friday in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, prompted widespread public outrage and questions in parliament. Continue reading...

More than 200 Americans at Balad site say they have no evacuation plan as fears grow of a post-Ramadan assaultSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHundreds of US contractors are stranded on a major military base near Baghdad, Iraq, with no evacuation plan, while local Iran-backed militants are possibly making plans to attack the base, three sources said.The contractors are employed on the Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih Air Base, formerly Balad Air Base, to support the Iraqi government’s F-16 fighter jet program. Continue reading...