Certification officer ends MSF enquiry

The trade union watchdog the Certification Officer decided at the beginning of last month that the MSF science and finance union and its general secretary, Roger Lyons, should not be formally investigated by government inspectors about alleged financial irregularities.

Responding to the announcement Lyons said, "I have co-operated fully with the investigation, and am pleased that the serious allegations made against me have been confirmed to be without foundation.'

The Certification Officer concluded: "My enquiries have revealed a number of disturbing features in the financial stewardship of this union among full-time officials in and around 1997." But he said that the most serious allegations against Lyons were not proven and that "the appointment of inspectors would add little to our knowledge of what happened".