Cost of report into FCA media error approaches £4m

The total costs of an independent report into the Financial Conduct Authority's strategy to brief a national newspaper on one of its high-profile regulatory projects are approaching £4m.

A investigation into the error, carried out by Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance partner Simon Davis, has so far cost £3.8m including VAT. When the inquiry was first announced, a costs lawyer told Investment Week sister title Professional Adviser the final bill could be anything up to £10m, given the high profile law firm chosen. Davis, appointed by the regulator in April to review the FCA's handling of the affair, today described the FCA's actions as well-intentioned but ultimately "high risk, poorly supervised and inadequately controlled". In March, FCA director of long-term ...