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| G4S and Serco lose tagging contracts | G4S and Serco lose tagging contracts |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Private security firms G4S and Serco have been stripped of responsibility for tagging criminals in the UK. | Private security firms G4S and Serco have been stripped of responsibility for tagging criminals in the UK. |
| It follows allegations they charged the government for tagging people who were either dead or in jail. | It follows allegations they charged the government for tagging people who were either dead or in jail. |
| The monitoring contracts will instead be handed to Capita until the end of the financial year, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said. | The monitoring contracts will instead be handed to Capita until the end of the financial year, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said. |
| He said the rival firm would continue to use Serco and G4S's equipment. | He said the rival firm would continue to use Serco and G4S's equipment. |
| Capita is bidding to take on the contracts permanently. | |
| "Under these arrangements, Capita will be using the systems and equipment of G4S and Serco," Mr Gralying said. | |
| "But the two companies will no longer have a direct role in delivering the service on the ground." | |
| He added: "This signals a fresh start for electronic monitoring that brings us a step closer to introducing the most advanced tagging system in the world." | |
| Ashley Almanza, chief executive of G4S told a committee of MPs last month his company had failed to "tell the difference between right and wrong" when dealing with the contracts. | |
| Serco chairman Alistair Lyons said it was "ethically wrong" to overcharge the government. | |
| In summer, the Ministry of Justice revealed that the private security firms had overcharged the government by "tens of millions of pounds" following an audit by accounts PricewaterhouseCoopers. | |
| It found that overcharging began at least as early as 2005 when the current contracts began. | |
| The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation and both firms have said they are "co-operating fully". |