US EditionMPs Slam ‘Disrespectful’ Obstruction by Chair of UK Financial Ombudsman
GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND, JUL 13 – MPs condemned Baroness Manzoor for citing House of Lords privilege to avoid scrutiny over Abby Thomas's dismissal amid record complaint volumes at the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- On 14 July 2025, the UK Treasury Select Committee published a report criticizing Baroness Manzoor for refusing to answer questions about Abby Thomas's dismissal as Financial Ombudsman Service chief executive.
- The report follows Abby Thomas's February 2025 ousting, attributed to a collapse in confidence caused by fundamental disagreements between Thomas and the FOS Board over strategy and operations.
- Despite committee demands for details on any severance or confidentiality agreements, Manzoor cited her House of Lords membership as a reason not to respond, a stance MPs called unnecessary and disrespectful yet acknowledged as legally valid.
- Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury Committee, expressed strong disappointment in how the senior management of the Financial Ombudsman Service managed the matter and highlighted the need for rigorous parliamentary oversight.
- The FOS complied with document requests, and the committee hopes this episode sends a clear message that attempts to frustrate parliamentary oversight will ultimately fail and transparency will continue.
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House of Commons (Treasury Committee) Report: FOS Accountability to the House of Commons
On 14 July 2025, the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons (the Committee) published a Report, Financial Ombudsman Service: Accountability to the House of Commons. The Report follows the oral evidence session on the work of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which involved Baroness Manzoor, Chair, FOS, and James Dipple Johnstone, interim Chief Ombudsman, FOS, in which the Committee scrutinised the sudden departure of the FOS’s former Chi…
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Leaning Left4Leaning Right1Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution55% Center
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources are Center
55% Center
L 36%
C 55%
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