The scandalous demise of Rolls-Royce is a national tragedy that shames the institution

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The demise of Rolls-Royce is one of the great national tragedies of our time – but the blame cannot be placed squarely on the East. It’s a scandal that shames the entire establishment, starting with a historic reclining painting.

Before East there was John Rishton, who was allowed to hang around for a long time. His predecessor, Sir John Rose, walked on water. Fur was succeeded by Sir Ian Davies who lacked presence. Today, the board has very few engineers, whereas it used to have quite a few.

Investors, too, are now expressing their concerns more openly, but for years they should have asked tougher questions and demanded better answers — there was no shortage of opportunity.

The intervention of Causeway Capital, with 9% of the shares, 18 months ago with its request to “refresh” at the top was along the right lines, but too vague to have any real impact.

There was certainly no sense that she, or other major shareholders, were pressing for any major changes, or indeed coming up with a drastic plan to change Rolls’ prospects.

The government cannot escape blame. A company whose Merlin engines helped British Spitfires and Hurricanes defeat the German Air Force in the Battle of Britain, and in which the country still held a golden share, should have been nurtured as a vital strategic asset, but was allowed to fade through Westminster.

An obvious place to start would be the highly promising modular nuclear reactor operation, which offers huge export potential of the kind that Brexit/Global Britain (pick your slogan) was supposed to represent.

The government has provided £210m in grants but only for the research and development phase – a pittance if it is serious about building a multi-billion-pound industry from scratch.

The big question is what Erginbilgic plans to do about it all. Coming from the private equity industry, one hopes Rolls isn’t about to face another round of cost cuts and job losses. Yet talk of a “transformation program” sounds ominously familiar.

As the prime minister and his adviser face mounting criticism for not having a growth plan, the predicament of a national champion like Rolls-Royce should serve as a stark warning. A credible industrial strategy is urgently needed to help the country get back on its feet.

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