GCHQ has been accused of putting “image over cost” in the choice of its London headquarters.
A report by MPs has strongly criticised the decision in 2015 by former chancellor George Osborne and senior spies to choose Nova South in Victoria as the location for the National Cyber Security Centre.
Annual running costs for the building were £6.4m, or £96m over a 15-year lease, while the Canary Wharf location recommended by officials was just £3.1m a year, under the budget of £3.5m.
Osborne, who was chairman of a sub-committee on cybersecurity, backed the “pet project”. His private office said in an e-mail that the options were “finely balanced” but Nova South presented a “more modern, high-tech image”.
