John Bourn

John Bourn

Sir John Bourn, then an officer of the British House of Commons, was holder of the office of Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and, as such, head of the National Audit Office. He took up his post in 1988 after a series of senior appointments in the Ministry of Defence and the Northern Ireland Office. In May 1998 he was awarded an Honorary Degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University. He was also the first Auditor General for Wales until Jeremy Colman took over this role on 1 April 2005.

On 25 October 2007 his office announced that he would step down early in 2008 after 20 years in the job to avoid any conflicts of interest with other posts he holds.

The decision followed criticism from opposition parties and the media over Bourn's high spending, such as a recent overseas trip that ran up taxpayer costs of more than £16,000. His expenses and conducts have frequently been highlighted in the satirical magazine Private Eye. In September 2008 the magazine published a special report, 'The Bourn Complicity', alleging that under his leadership numerous government expenditure failings escaped scrutiny while Bourn (frequently accompanied by his wife) went on unnecessary and extravagant foreign trips, and accepted lavish hospitality from contractors.

Bourn said in a statement he would retire on 31 January 2008 in order to avoid any conflict with his post as chairman of the Professional Oversight Board, a body that oversees professional accountancy bodies.

Bourn has been a visiting professor at the London School of Economics since 1983, and is also a governor of the School. In March 2006 he was appointed "independent advisor on ministerial interests" by Tony Blair, to advise ministers on potential clashes between their public duties and private affairs, and to investigate any claims that the rules have been broken. However this appointment was revoked following the controversy around the C&AG's travel expenditure.