British Gas gets black mark for charter use

British Gas has come under attack from the Government for using the Charter Mark which it relinquished last year. The row comes only days after the company announced it would split in two and that its chief executive, Cedric Brown, will retire prematurely in the spring, writes Mary Fagan.

Genie Turton, Director of the Charter Unit at the Cabinet Office, has written to Mr Brown to demand why some of the company's correspondence still bears the mark. British Gas gave it up voluntarily, but the move came amidst criticism over falling standards of service.

Ian Powe, director of the Gas Consumers Council, said: "To display a Government badge of excellence to which it is no longer entitled is symbolic of the political misjudgements that have recently tarnished the company's image."

A spokeswoman for British Gas said that the mark is only carried on older stationery.