Speeches by Riddell-Carpenter.

“Can I challenge you on that? Arguably, similar arguments were put forward for British Steel but ultimately the decision was that as a nation we are better off producing steel in this country rather than being dependent entirely on imports during times of clear economic crisis and global political volatility. I would ar…”

“You said to my colleague, Juliet, and others earlier that one of your main powers is that of convening in order to enable growers/farmers to negotiate. What does that look like in practice? It is David and Goliath really. If we have British growers and farmers potentially on their knees with the crises they are facing,…”

“That is what an injunction does.”

“It is not an honest conversation about the failings and flaws and issues within your organisation that you are prepared to have publicly. We are clearly not going to agree on this, but I would suggest that until you can understand that, you cannot build trust with your customer base, nor can you have good communication…”

“I would refer to a fleeting comment I made earlier; you might be asking the right questions, but you are not finding the right answers. You mentioned at the beginning that you have brought in additional skills to the board, either exec or non-exec, I cannot remember which. Can you tell me whether those skills come from…”

“Yes, but you are not compliant.”

“Chris, you said earlier that you failed customers; you failed in your primary duty, “We failed in a number of areas, and there are opportunities for us to learn and develop.” As the Chair just said, how bad would things have to get for a change in leadership at the very top?”

“Which water company do they come from?”

“You might be asking the right questions, but you are coming up with the wrong answers.”

“Which power company?”

“Which water company do they come from?”

“Yes, but you are not compliant.”

“Thank you, Chair. David, trust is at the heart of communications and the heart of your social contract to operate in your role as chief executive. Do you agree that your trust with your customers and that social contract to deliver is central? I would put it to you that your trust has not improved. In fact, I would say…”

“That is what an injunction does.”

“Were communications in the room when you made that decision?”

“Were communications in the room when you made that decision?”

“It is not an honest conversation about the failings and flaws and issues within your organisation that you are prepared to have publicly. We are clearly not going to agree on this, but I would suggest that until you can understand that, you cannot build trust with your customer base, nor can you have good communication…”

“What skills, advice and critical questions are you bringing to the board?”

“Were they in the room when you made that decision?”

“That is like saying that BA are a really good airline but the planes cannot get off the ground.”