Kier probes use of illegal timber on Parliament work

Kier has launched an investigation after its subcontractor Wallis was caught using illegally logged timber on its refurbishment contract on the Houses of Parliament.

A Greenpeace investigation uncovered more than two tonnes of bitangor from the rainforests of Papua New Guinea being used to face plywood used to protect floors, stairs and walls.

In a statement Kier said: “Materials for this project were specified to come from a sustainable source and we are currently investigating this apparent non-compliance of a proportion of the material supplied.”

Wallis has been challenged in the past about its work in the Palace of Westminster. In 2002, in a Parliamentary statement, the minister confirmed that Wallis was using a robust vetting system to ensure its suppliers provided evidence of the source and sustainability of their timber.

Greenpeace further claimed that this time the wood was being binned after first use.

Spokesman Pat Venditti said: “The wood is being ripped out of the rainforests, sent to a mill in China, then sent to the UK for use once and then skipped.”

But Kier denied this was the case. “All the salvageable protection material used on the project is earmarked for reuse on other projects once it has been dismantled,” a spokesman said.

Government guidelines on timber procurement state: “When procuring timber, you should ask for evidence of sustainability as part of the tendering process”.

This is the fourth time in as many years that Greenpeace has revealed the use of illegal timber on government contracts.