Thierry Breton, the longtime CEO of ATOS, held over 500,000 shares in the firm as of the end of 2018. The centre-right former French finance minister was today accepted by European Commission president-elect to become the EU’s next single market chief. Mr Breton, 64, is a member of the European People’s Party, and was nominated after MEPs overwhelmingly rejected previous candidate Sylvie Goulard.
He has been in charge of Atos, which holds billions in UK Government contracts, since 2008.
Last June the Department of Work and Pensions was accused of “rewarding failure” after handing out £630 million worth of contracts to private firms for handling disability benefit tests.
Atos was given up to £394.7 million to carry out Personal Independence Payment eligibility tests.
The firm was handed a contract to administer millions of fit-for-work tests for sick and and disabled people, on behalf of the Department for Work and Pension.
Atos’ work capability assessments were meant to end in August 2015 but bosses quit a year early following widespread public and political anger over the tests.
While taxpayers didn’t foot the bill for the early termination of the contract, public funds were used to judge appeals made after the computer-led, points-based assessments.
More than 600,000 appeals have been lodged against its previous decisions. Four in 10 of Atos assessors’ original decision were overturned, costing taxpayers an estimated £60 million a year between 2010 to 2014 which works out as roughly £240million.
In 2016, the firm was the subject of a government review of all of its Whitehall contracts following a series of IT failures.
The investigation was launched on all Atos contracts worth over £10 million after the public accounts committee issued a scathing report.
MPs on the committee said the firm “did not show an appropriate duty of care to the taxpayer” and “appears to have acted solely with its own short-term best interests in mind”.
The Cabinet Office review eventually established that the contracts were acceptable.
Three years earlier Atos was criticised after it was found to have paid no corporation tax in 2012, despite making huge profiles from its government contracts.
A source close to Mr Breton told AFP that the Frenchman will be cutting ties with the firm in order to take up his role in the Commission.
They said: “Thierry Breton has always been extremely clear: If he is confirmed as European commissioner, he will not own, on the day he takes office, any shares of any kind in any company.”
The European Parliament’s legal affairs committee will are due to scrutinise Mr Breton’s financial and business interests.
Before allowing the French candidate to the confirmatory stage, he will be scoped out for any potential conflicts of interest.
The committee has been ruthless in selecting the next batch of commissioners, already rejecting the Romanian and Hungarian candidates.
Express.co.uk contacted Atos for a comment.