O'Rourke finally sues over dumped hospital

A joint venture led by Laing O'Rourke has finally decided to make a claim over the scrapping of a £921m hospital - more than two years after Contract Journal revealed the consortium was considering legal action.

The Triskelion jv - made up of O'Rourke, John Laing and Serco - is claiming millions in bidding costs from the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) NHS Trust and the Department for Health.

A spokesman for University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said: "We are aware that the Triskelion Consortium have indicated an intention to pursue proceedings, although no claim has yet been served.

"Any proceedings will be defended robustly by the Trust. However, in light of such potential litigation it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this stage."

Triskelion was originally appointed preferred bidder in December 2004.

The jv finally agreed a £711m price with the trust in the summer of 2006 but it was soon revised upwards to £921m with no guarantee the cost would not rise further.

Trust leaders launched an urgent review of the Pathway Project scheme in consultation with the Department of Health in April 2007 before deciding to shelve it following nine weeks of debate.