ALLEGATIONS in Parliament that the Ministry of Defence "covered up" nearly £100 million of concessions to speed the privatisation of QinetiQ have been rebutted.

Welsh Labour MP Llew Smith complained to the Speaker of the House of Commons that details of the concessions were "slipped out" at the start of the Christmas recess, making it difficult for MPs to see and comment on it in the statutory 14-day period.

However, a QinetiQ spokesman said the 14 days did not include the Parliamen-tary holiday and that MPs had until January 23 to view and comment on the documents.

The concessions include £45m contribution to pension funds, £40m if the Government terminates early a 25-year deal on the lease of test ranges, £4.5m on unspecified provisions in accounts and £3m to cover legal costs.

Mr Smith said the figures were a "staggering admission" that the deal to part-sell QinetiQ to venture capital outfit Carlyle "is not really good value for money".

QinetiQ says the money relates to liabilities incurred by its predecessor organisations, such as DERA and its ancestors, which were part of the MoD and funded by the taxpayer. But most of the liabilities have been transferred to QinetiQ, said the spokesman, and the overall deal provides good value for the taxpayer.