Byers in row over missing record of Railtrack meeting

The dispute over Stephen Byers' role in the collapse of Railtrack worsened last night when it was revealed that civil servants did not record crucial parts of a meeting which helped to seal the company's fate.

Conservatives accused Mr Byers of misleading MPs over his version of a meeting with the Railtrack chairman, John Robinson, in July, after Mr Byers released official minutes of the hotly disputed encounter.

Tories also claimed Mr Byers was attempting to "bury" the news of the minutes under cover of the Government's pre-Budget report. Railtrack went on the attack, saying it was vindicated by the official record.

Mr Byers has insisted he was warned about the company's poor financial health at the meeting on 30 July. He has told MPs that Mr Robinson warned him of Railtrack's poor financial position and asked for a "soft letter of comfort" or extra cash aid to allow the company to confirm it was a going concern.

But the crucial exchange, denied by Mr Robinson, is missing from the minutes, released by the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. Instead, a highly unusual "supplementary note", prepared by the department, claims that Mr Robinson asked civil servants not to make a record of the discussions.

The note says "all those present on the Government side" recalled Mr Robinson's disputed comments about Railtrack's financial plight, including Mr Byers; John Spellar, the Transport minister; Richard Mottram, a permanent secretary at the department; and Dan Corry, an adviser to Mr Byers.

Mr Byers had declined to release the minutes until pressed by members of the Commons transport select committee.

Railtrack denied Mr Robinson asked civil servants not to record the meeting and said it had been vindicated. Mr Robinson said: "No amount of briefing or suggestion can mask the fact that no written note exists either in the Secretary of State's minutes or my own.

"Since Railtrack went into administration we have had spin and smokescreen hiding the truth about what Railtrack was talking to the Government about. Now the truth is out in black and white, perhaps people can understand our frustration and anger at the treatment of the company and its shareholders," he said.

"It is no surprise that there is no mention of a plea for a blank cheque or about the company's ability to make a going concern statement at the interims as this discussion did not take place at the meeting."

Mr Robinson has submitted his own note of the meeting to the Financial Standards Authority, although Railtrack admitted that he wrote his account in the days following the crucial meeting.

Theresa May, the shadow Transport secretary, described the latest twist as "fishy". She said: "MPs have a right to feel misled. I am sure no one is going to be able to trust what they are saying or what the Secretary of State is saying in the future. This is very much like trying to bury bad news."

A departmental spokesman said the minutes had been released yesterday to meet a deadline set by the transport select committee.