Payback time for Bob the cowboy!

Having been criticised previously for writing and expressing my views widely on the on-going investigation by the Office of Fair Trading into Construction Sector Cartels I must admit to a degree of smugness when news broke of the 103 companies having £129m of fines imposed on them having been found guilty of cover pricing.

It was humorous watching and listening to well paid industry representatives (some of whom had sent me threatening letters in the past) trying to justify why the public purse had been robbed of millions of pounds. It was everyone else's fault apparently, if the public sector procurers leave their window open can they really blame a passing stranger who climbs in and helps themselves. Alternatively public servants should really be sharper at spotting people exchanging envelopes in underground car parks hundreds of miles away or in golf club locker rooms.

I honestly hope that the Construction Sector has learned its lessons from this and we move on to a new era where every penny of the public purse is used to build badly needed public sector infrastructure. Now more than ever it is vital that we achieve as much public value for our buck as possible. Taxpayers don't deserve anything less.