BAE Systems worker allowed to resign after investigation into significant theft at Samlesbury site

BAE Systems described the items taken as low-value, a contradiction of what The Lancashire Lead had been told

Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.

Today is the first report of something that has become an open secret on the BAE Systems site in Samlesbury.

That is that a man - who cannot be named - has left the company voluntarily after an investigation into alleged thefts of what sounds like expensive equipment to the person on the street - but BAE Systems stress is low value.

The internal investigation into the thefts ran for a long period of time, but what it uncovered was greater than the business had been anticipating.

BAE Systems stressed that the items were ‘low value’ - though would not comment on the number we put to them - were not aircraft parts and that it is a isolated incident involving one individual.

Lancashire briefing

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BAE Systems worker allowed to resign after investigation into significant thefts at Samlesbury site

By Luke Beardsworth

A member of staff at BAE Systems has been allowed to resign - rather than dismissed - despite an internal investigation finding he had been stealing from the business.

The male employee, who cannot be named, was working for BAE Systems at its site in Samlesbury. BAE Systems is one of the biggest employers in the North West and is estimated to directly employ 13,700 people in Lancashire.

An investigation, launched over a year ago, tracked the activities of an employee thought to be removing specialist carbide equipment from the site. These can trade for around £1,000 each in the current market but would not be considered aircraft parts.

The purpose of the internal investigation was to identify who was responsible for the missing equipment and to build evidence.

The Lancashire Lead was told that well over £1m of equipment was taken from the site over a long period of time before the business confronted the employee - although what was discovered was greater than what was expected.