Warwick County Council leader accused of ‘student politics’ after JLR cyber attacks

The leader of Warwickshire County Council, George Finch, has responded to “misleading” claims from MP Matt Western, who accused him of prioritising “student politics” following the recent cyber-attacks on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

Production at JLR sites ground to a halt in late August, with over 75% of businesses in West Midlands negatively affected by a major cyber-attack.

A major Coventry supplier, Evtec Group, had to furlough 900 workers on 80% pay as a result of the cyber-attacks they faced. The chairman told BBC News that it had been the “worst crisis” of four decades in the industry, causing more disruption than Covid.

Western, the Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington, criticised the lack of response from council leader Finch, who is also chair of the North Warwickshire and Bedworth branch of Reform UK.

Finch refuted the criticism from Western that he had ‘taken no action’

He posted on Facebook  last week that he was “dismayed by the response” to the cyber-attacks, writing: “it appears that the leader has taken no action himself to offer his support to the company, and those affected. Instead, he has delved into the depths of student politics.”

The MP highlighted the “financial meltdown” faced by JLR following the cyber-attack. He was critical of George Finch’s social media activity, suggesting many in the county “expect more from their leader”.

Western claimed he had focused on “flags”, which were mentioned seven times, and spoke about “Tories defecting to Reform UK” four times, as well as “calling sixth forms ‘woke’” on two occasions.

‘Warwickshire County Council remains committed to supporting our business community through this challenging time’

Councillor George Finch, WCC Leader

Coventry Live reported Councillor Finch’s response, who said that he was “disappointed in Matt Western’s suggestion” that he had “failed to act in response to the cyber-attack”.

Finch refuted the criticism from Western that he had “taken no action”.

He said the council had worked closely with JLR, the Department for Business and Trade, and local partners, and had activated a redundancy support task force to assist affected workers.

“This claim is both misleading and unfair”, he said in a statement, reaffirming that the council were working to support those affected by the cyber-attacks.

“Warwickshire County Council remains committed to supporting our business community through this challenging time”, he continued.

Western says he has written again to the council’s leader “to clarify whether or not he has met with those affected, and if he would be willing to do so any time soon”.