Rail fiasco adviser retiring - Telegraph Christopher Muttukumaru, general counsel at the DfT, is to retire in the autumn, the Sunday Telegraph has learnt. Mr Muttukumaru, whose civil service career has included a period as secretary to Lord Scott's inquiry into exports to Iraq, is indirectly named in the Laidlaw Inquiry into the lessons learnt from the West Coast debacle. The inquiry, led by Centrica chief executive, Sam Laidlaw, followed the decision to withdraw the West Coast Main Line contract from First Group after a series of errors. In one paragraph in the inquiry's report, it questions whether Eversheds, acting for the DfT, should have raised concerns about First Group's subordinated loan facility with the DfT's general counsel. Mr Muttukumaru attended a meeting of the DfT's board investment and commercial subcommittee on July 31 - 16 days before First Group was handed the contract. At that meeting, he raised correspondence from Sir Richard Branson, of rival bidder Virgin Trains, who questioned the "rigour of the analysis of the different bids." As the department's chief legal officer, Mr Muttukumaru leads a group of more than 90 lawyers, and his role included advising on the rail franchising programme. Headhunter Odgers Berndtson has been hired to recruit a replacement on a salary of up to £130,000. A DfT spokesman said Mr Muttukumaru agreed his retirement on June 14 last year: "Christopher's retirement has absolutely nothing to do with issues relating to the West Coast Main Line franchise."