I am writing to you because of a situation my colleagues and I find ourselves in with our employers—HM Revenue and Customs.

  We are Civil Servants employed as security officers at HMRC Cumbernauld. In mid-September we were called to a meeting with senior management who informed us that HMRC were proposing to outsource our jobs to a private contractor. No tender process was going to happen but our jobs were being transferred to Mapeley, by the end of the year.

  Mapeley are the company who took over all Revenue buildings in 2001. The Revenue signed the contract with what they thought was a UK Company. Unfortunately for them they later learned the contract was with a Burmuda registered tax haven company. The taxman feeding the flames of tax evasion-no wonder a scandal erupted.

  The contract process to date has been problematic with threat and counter threat of legal action and Mapeley even asking at one point for more money.

  Since it was announced about the jobs transfer, I have looked into Mapeley a bit (Internet, Media)

  In April 2007 the share price fell from £40 to £23 in one month.

  They are also £1.45 billion in debt. Can I ask you at this point, would you be thrilled at the prospect of your job, terms and conditions and future pension arrangements put in control of Mapeley. No, neither do I, or would I.

  With Mapeley's record regarding it's tax haven status and the way this information was made known at the eleventh hour I would have thought that no Government Department would be rushing to give them any more work or contracts.

  Prior to the contract being signed apparently the Chairman of the Revenue sent two "letters of comfort" to Mapeley's creditors and shareholders, stating the contract would be most beneficial. In accountancy terms this could be construed as underwriting the contract, I wonder if this is so.

  My colleagues and I (19 of us) have approximately 400 years service between us. Regarding Mapeley with some of their background I have given you I can only ask why?

  One answer of course is, regardless of efficiency or value for money, reduce the Civil Service headcount at all cost.

  I am of course not one of your constituents but I am a taxpayer and a somewhat concerned and puzzled servant of our country.

  The main question to me again is why? Or why them? ... "Something in the state of Denmark ..." maybe is not all it seems.

October 2007