I was a career Chartered Accountant, and in 1975, whilst employed by Thomson McLintock I was seconded at Under Secretary level as Deputy Director of the Industrial Development Unit at the Department of Industry. It was established by the Conservative Government after the passing of the 1972 Industry Act to assist in the restructuring of Industry. When the Labour Party came to power in 1974 it was used more in the way of supporting lame ducks. In shipbuilding terms the lame ducks were principally the Drypool Group based on the Humber, Robb Caledon at Dundee and Leith, and I was also involved in appraising capital investment projects at Cammell Laird and at Sunderland Shipbuilders. Thus in my two years there prior to nationalisation, I became quite heavily involved in the shipbuilding industry and interested in it. I returned to my accountancy firm in January 1977, but was later invited by Mike Casey to become Acting Finance Director from March 1977 in the Organising Committee of British Shipbuilders until such time as they got a full time person in post. That was Maurice Elderfield who took over round about the end of 1977. During my time there I was actively involved in the recruitment of the permanent finance team who actually remained more or less in place until the end of British Shipbuilders.

I was involved in setting up the accounting system, and the rather controversial matter of centralised banking. We agreed that on the first day of nationalisation all the companies would remit their cash into the centre. As firms like Vosper Thornycroft, who had fought nationalisation pretty hard, had £50m in the bank, this was not a popular decision. I was involved in making people understand that they no longer controlled their own destiny, and that investment decisions would be generated and approved centrally. I was also involved in acquiring, on behalf of British Shipbuilders, the six ship repair companies that did not wish to remain independent. We brought in consultants on that in the hope really that they would tell us that we would be daft to do it. They produced a report which enabled us to go ahead. In fact A…P Appledore produced the best mixed metaphor I have ever seen in a report. It said that there was, “a carrot on the horizon.”