Branson to reveal Lottery plans

Sir Richard Branson: Consortium moving away from rival lottery

The People's Lottery consortium is due to announce if it will pursue legal action against the Lottery Commission over a decision to award the lottery franchise to Camelot.

Sir Richard Branson and his People's Lottery team consulted with lawyers, who said they had a "strong case" for a judicial review.

That session on Tuesday followed news that he may be considering setting up a non-profit rival lottery.

An official announcement on the future of the consortium is expected on Wednesday.

The consortium is believed to be moving away from the idea of a rival lottery and the Lottery Commission is believed to be confident of success in any legal battle.

The lack of response from the Commission and their lawyers and their refusal to meet us is pushing us towards legal action

People's Lottery spokesman

The People's Lottery was widely tipped to be chosen to take over the seven-year franchise of the National Lottery once Camelot's tenure was over and Sir Richard was left "bitterly disappointed" by last month's decision is favour of the present operators.

In August Dame Helena Shovelton, chair of the Lottery Commission, told the People's Lottery it would be the sole bidders for the franchise.

But following an appeal to the High Court by Camelot, the bidding process again became a two-horse race. Dame Helena then resigned and Lord Burns took over.

Pushed towards action

A spokesman for the People's Lottery said the consortium felt it was "being pushed" towards appealing for a judicial review.

"We met with our lawyers this morning and they have advised us we have a very strong case for a judicial review," the spokesman said.

"Our lawyers asked the lawyers to the commission for some extra information, but the lack of response from the commission and their lawyers and their refusal to meet us is pushing us towards legal action.

"However, we won't be making a final decision until Wednesday."

There is enormous advantage in an incumbent operator - it is very difficult for a challenger to establish their credentials

Chris Smith
Culture Secretary

While legal action appeared the most obvious possibility, starting up an alternative lottery was becoming more unlikely, a People's Lottery source added.

The commission has said it preferred not to meet Sir Richard and his team while the "threat of legal proceedings" remained.

Sir Richard's decision may be influenced by Culture Secretary Chris Smith, who voiced his concerns over the Lottery Commission's selection process procedure.

'Flawed' process

Speaking on BBC Radio 2's Jimmy Young show, Mr Smith said the selection process was "flawed" and gave an unfair advantage to the current operator and should be reviewed.

He said: "There is enormous advantage in an incumbent operator - it is very difficult for a challenger to establish their credentials and prove beyond any peradventure that they can deliver more for the good causes, which is of course the key test on which the judgment has to be made."

Mr Smith added the government could not stand in Sir Richard's way if he chose to start up an independent lottery.

"Good luck to him if he wants to do that," he said.

A spokesman for the Lottery Commission said any lottery which is not regulated by themselves would be closely controlled with heavy restrictions on numbers of tickets and jackpots.