好色先生TV

The UK鈥檚 former chief construction adviser has called the current leadership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) 鈥渁rrogant and naive鈥� over its handling of a governance scandal which has rocked the organisation.

Paul Morrell鈥檚 intervention comes as the RICS confirmed details of the independent review it has promised into its corporate governance practices.

It bowed to pressure last month and agreed to investigate the events that led to the dismissal of four non-executive directors in November 2019 after they raised the alarm about the findings of a 2018 BDO financial audit.

The accountant gave the institution the lowest possible 鈥榥o assurance鈥� rating for its treasury controls and warned that it was at risk of 鈥渦nidentified fraud, misappropriation of funds and misreporting of financial performance鈥�.

The RICS has now appointed barrister Peter Oldham QC, a barrister at 11KBW, a chambers which specialises in commercial, employment, media and public law, to conduct an independent review into the events which is expected to be wrapped up by the beginning of April, with the findings published 鈥渁s soon as possible鈥�.

Morrell, who was the government鈥檚 first chief construction adviser between 2009 and 2012 under prime ministers Gordon Brown and David Cameron, told 好色先生TV that breaking up the 153-year-old institution was 鈥渙ne solution鈥� that should be considered to making it operate more effectively as part of an ongoing wider review the organisation began in 2019.

Morrell (pictured), a former senior partner at Davis Langdon and international chairman of the firm, said the institution鈥檚 current leadership, which includes president Kathleen Fontana, chief executive Sean Tompkins and governing council chairman Chris Brooke, were 鈥渂oth arrogant and naive鈥� over their handling of the BDO report.

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He added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 naive because the scandal would never have arisen, notwithstanding the frustrations with the institution, if they had been sensible about responding to their non-execs.

鈥淗ow you鈥檇 imagine that people [the current leadership] who are well respected and well connected would allow that to happen without engaging the interests of the press, I think is just naive or is arrogance that overcomes naivete.

鈥淭he other arrogance is to imagine that a professional institution is not really a members organisation at all and must not be held back by the mass of its membership.

鈥淭his is effectively saying that the institution鈥檚 leadership has a better idea of what鈥檚 good for the members than they do and I think this has led to them replacing the interests of individual members with a mad international chase for numbers, congratulating themselves upon that, and losing sight of the interests of people closer to home.鈥�

Morrell said the institution has 鈥渁lways had a problem鈥� between the interests of its larger global practices and those which only operate within the UK.

Many members see the conflict as having deepened over the past 10 years as the RICS has expanded internationally, becoming a world authority on chartered surveying.

One member who contacted 好色先生TV said that there was an 鈥渦nnecessary haste鈥� at the RICS to 鈥渆xpand globally but at the expense of the UK base鈥�.

Another told 好色先生TV that the RICS was more focused on global expansion and selling training to its members than giving them support, adding: 鈥淚 feel like so many of my peers that it鈥檚 losing its roots in terms of its engagement with grassroots membership in the UK.鈥�

Morrell said the RICS was too diverse and tried to represent too many interests. He said: 鈥淵ou simply wouldn鈥檛 invent the RICS if it didn鈥檛 already exist.鈥�

Asked how the RICS could approach the issue, he said: 鈥淢y own attitude is they will find it very difficult to change.

鈥淭hey will not be able to change with their current leadership.

鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 know where you find people with the energy to set a new agenda and how those people achieve some consensus across a body which has so many different sub-sectors and so many different scales of business.鈥�

Morrell, who has been a member of the RICS for nearly 50 years, said that this might be the last year that he pays his subscription fees, admitting that the organisation 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 have much to do with me anymore and I think that鈥檚 a very common reaction鈥�.

He added: 鈥淚鈥檝e felt for the whole of my life as a QS that I鈥檓 closer to members of the RIBA in terms of my daily life than I am to other non-construction members of the RICS and that鈥檚 a bit weird isn鈥檛 it?鈥�

Morrell has been a longstanding critic of the RICS and in 2004 called for it to be divided into three branches representing its land, property and construction elements.

In a statement to 好色先生TV last week, current president Fontana admitted the fallout from the RICS鈥� botched handling of the BDO report had shocked it into a wider review into its future purpose.

She added: 鈥淣ow would be a good time to review the purpose and relevance of RICS, and this will be a great opportunity for all our members to help us shape the future of RICS.鈥�