THERE may be a way for Bombardier to be given work from the £1.4bn Thameslink rail deal without the Government putting itself at risk of being taken to court, an expert has claimed.

Ministers have warned abandoning, or even changing, the procurement process that has seen Siemens named preferred bidder for Thameslink would see the British Government facing fines from the EU and legal action from Siemens.

But now European business law expert Professor Chris Bovis has suggested there is a way out of the dilemma that would see Siemens keep the contract, Bombardier get some of the work and the Government safe from legal challenge.

The University of Hull academic said: "It is possible that after tendering is complete Bombardier could still get a proportion of the work.

"The Government and Siemens still have to negotiate the terms of the contract and still have to come to an arrangement about the inclusiveness of the supply chain.

"It's possible the parties agree to a clause in the contract that would see 30% or 50% of the work subcontracted back to Bombardier."

Labour politicians have argued the Government could take account of the dire economic impact their decision was having on Derby and appoint Bombardier as preferred bidder as a result.

But a guidelines document issued by the EU Commission makes it clear that such social measures must be set at the start of a tendering process.

The document, called Buying Social: A Guide to Taking Account of Social Considerations in Public Procurement, suggests the EU does encourage governments to take account of such social factors when putting contracts out to tender.

But no such measures were included in Thameslink when it was set up in 2007 by the previous government.

The EU document makes clear that introducing social considerations at a later stage of the procurement process is not permitted.

Meanwhile, Prof Bovis also said it would be very risky for the Government to tear up the tendering process and start a new one.

Prof Bovis said: "If they tore the contract apart the Government would become liable for compensation and for any losses incurred by Siemens."

But introducing a sub-contracting clause would not see the Government breaking any obligations.

Prof Bovis added: "It happens in other parts of the world. No one loses face or gets upset."

The idea was welcomed by South Derbyshire Conservative MP Heather Wheeler, who said she would be pushing the Department for Transport to explore the suggestion.

She said: "I really hope this will be the key to keep train-building in Derbyshire."

But Labour's Derby North MP Chris Williamson was not as positive, claiming that work gained under subcontracting would be the "second rate" option.

He believed there could be technical issues that would still allow the Government to review Siemens' preferred bidder status and award the entire contract to Bombardier – in particular problems over Siemens' "lightweight bogie".

A bogie is the chassis underneath the train carriage that carries the wheels.

Under the original Thameslink tender bidders were told they would have to fit carriages with a lightweight bogie, but Siemens is yet to fully develop one.

Ironically, for a contract the German firm won in its own country it had to build trains using a Bombardier lightweight bogie.

Mr Williamson said: "I believe, and there is some expert opinion behind this too, that the bogie, a key element of the bid, is not ready and still has to be developed, which leaves a question over Siemens' ability to deliver what they said they would.

"On that basis I think that the Government should still review the decision that it has taken and award the contract to Bombardier."