Transport chief Peter Strachan quits after rail bid blunder Mr Strachan also played a pivotal role in liaising with the train operators, though he raised eyebrows in the industry when he pre-empted the report by Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw into the West Coast shambles by sending bidders detailed accounts of his own version of events. Letters running to more than 10 pages sent to FirstGroup and Virgin Rail put the June 27 meeting of the Contract Awards Committee at the centre of events and complained of "stark inconsistencies" in the accounts of officials. The meeting, chaired by Ms Mingay, determined the size of the subordinated loan facility (SLF) - the amount bidders pledged against the risk of them walking out on the contract - with "winning" bidder FirstGroup putting up £190m. Mr Strachan wrote in his letter: "As a result of our investigations, it became apparent that the Department departed from its stated procedures ... in establishing the level of the SLF. The amount of SLF sought from at least some bidders was substantially too low as a result. While many of his findings were backed by the Laidlaw investigation, his motivation for writing a letter that largely exonerated himself from any blame was questioned in the industry. A DfT spokesman said the letter had been written as a "matter of courtesy" to bidders. Ms Mingay, who went to the High Court following her suspension in an attempt to be reinstated, was the DfT's director, commercial and technical services. She is understood to have been moved to the Crossrail project team. A DfT spokesman said: "As a consequence of restructuring, Peter Strachan has decided to move on from the DfT. We wish Peter all the best in his next role.