NO 2 Veolia torpedoed bid

Ok, same news, different paper.  The local press coverage of the campaign against zionism's preferred supplier, Veolia, has been, from my point of view anyway, as unexpected as Veolia's sudden withdrawal from the contract contest.  This time it's the Camden New Journal on the case:

ONE of the biggest-ever contracts in local authority history has been thrown into further chaos after one of only two bidders pulled out at the last minute.

North London Waste Authority (NLWA) – run by seven London boroughs, including Camden – is on the verge of handing out a £4.7bn contract to collect, recycle and burn waste from the boroughs for the next 25 to 35 years.

But after more than a year of negotiations whittled down the firms able to handle such a contract to just two, one has now quit the race at the last minute.

International waste firm Veolia is not giving a reason for its decision. But campaigners believe it is due to the negative publicity that has been gathering pace over its work for Israel on illegally occupied Palestinian land.

The United Nations and charity War on Want both wrote to the councillors – two from each borough – who run the NLWA, urging them not to choose Veolia.

Camden representatives on the NLWA are councillors Phil Jones and Theo Blackwell.

There has also been a vociferous campaign by a group called No To Veolia.

Campaigner Yael Kahn said: “It is absolutely down to the campaign. Without it Veolia would have already pocketed the contract.”

The contract, which will cost Camden taxpayers £600m, has been mired in controversy because all the deliberations are held in secret, even though a vast amount of taxpayers’ cash – enough to buy four nuclear submarines – is at stake

Of course this isn't simply about media coverage. Israel will be watching this case nervously as companies will have to consider all of the implications of being associated with the occupation or even with Israel itself.