U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) meets with officials at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry during his visit to Baghdad July 26, 2009.

BOSTON | Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:19pm EST

BOSTON (Reuters) - Representative Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts Democrat who has represented Boston and its surrounding since 2001, on Thursday formally launched a bid for the U.S. Senate, seeking the seat being vacated by John Kerry following his confirmation as the new U.S. secretary of state.

Lynch, a former ironworker, will face off against fellow House of Representatives member Edward Markey in an April 30 primary, ahead of a June 25 special election to choose a permanent successor to Kerry.

Lynch announced his candidacy with a speech in the headquarters of the ironworkers union he once ran - a site chosen to play up his working-class background.

After a series of appearances in Worcester and Framingham, the state's second- and third-most populous cities, Lynch told a crowd of supporters in Boston about his experience losing a job during a mass layoff at a nearby shipyard.

"I know what it's like to stand in an unemployment line. It's something you never forget," Lynch said, according to a text of his prepared remarks. "I learned that in severe economic downturns, that sometimes the only force that can correct that inequity ... is the government."

Lynch faces an uphill battle against Markey, who has held his seat in Congress since 1976, according to recent polls.

In a primary contest, 52 percent of voters would support Markey and just 19 percent Lynch, according to a Public Policy Polling study of 404 likely primary voters released on Wednesday.

No prominent Republicans have said if they will run for the seat, and observers wonder whether former Republican Senator Scott Brown will seek a return to Washington.

Brown stunned the liberal state's Democratic establishment in 2010 when he won a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant with the death of Edward Kennedy.

Brown lost a re-election bid last year to Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, on Wednesday named his former chief of staff, William Cowan, to hold the U.S. Senate seat until a successor is elected.

Cowan told reporters he viewed the appointment as temporary and had no plans to run in the special election.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

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U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) meets with officials at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry during his visit to Baghdad July 26, 2009.

BOSTON | Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:19pm EST

BOSTON (Reuters) - Representative Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts Democrat who has represented Boston and its surrounding since 2001, on Thursday formally launched a bid for the U.S. Senate, seeking the seat being vacated by John Kerry following his confirmation as the new U.S. secretary of state.

Lynch, a former ironworker, will face off against fellow House of Representatives member Edward Markey in an April 30 primary, ahead of a June 25 special election to choose a permanent successor to Kerry.

Lynch announced his candidacy with a speech in the headquarters of the ironworkers union he once ran - a site chosen to play up his working-class background.

After a series of appearances in Worcester and Framingham, the state's second- and third-most populous cities, Lynch told a crowd of supporters in Boston about his experience losing a job during a mass layoff at a nearby shipyard.

"I know what it's like to stand in an unemployment line. It's something you never forget," Lynch said, according to a text of his prepared remarks. "I learned that in severe economic downturns, that sometimes the only force that can correct that inequity ... is the government."

Lynch faces an uphill battle against Markey, who has held his seat in Congress since 1976, according to recent polls.

In a primary contest, 52 percent of voters would support Markey and just 19 percent Lynch, according to a Public Policy Polling study of 404 likely primary voters released on Wednesday.

No prominent Republicans have said if they will run for the seat, and observers wonder whether former Republican Senator Scott Brown will seek a return to Washington.

Brown stunned the liberal state's Democratic establishment in 2010 when he won a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant with the death of Edward Kennedy.

Brown lost a re-election bid last year to Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, on Wednesday named his former chief of staff, William Cowan, to hold the U.S. Senate seat until a successor is elected.

Cowan told reporters he viewed the appointment as temporary and had no plans to run in the special election.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

View the original article here

Mike Lynch, Founder and Chairman of Autonomy Corporation, poses for photographers at an awards ceremony in central London March 13, 2008.

LONDON | Fri Dec 28, 2012 8:32am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Mike Lynch, the founder of the software firm sold to Hewlett-Packard last year in a deal tainted by accusations of accounting fraud, said he would defend the company's accounts to U.S. Federal investigators.

HP confirmed in a filing late on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating Autonomy's books.

The PC and printer maker bought the British company for $11 billion last year to lead its push into the more profitable software sector.

Autonomy did not deliver the growth expected, resulting in Lynch's departure earlier this year.

But worse was to come last month when HP wrote off some $5 billion of the company's value and accused its former management of accounting improprieties that inflated its value.

The Silicon Valley company said it had passed information from a whistleblower to the U.S. Department of Justice, the SEC and Britain's Serious Fraud Office.

"On November 21, 2012, representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice advised HP that they had opened an investigation relating to Autonomy," it said in the filing.

"HP is cooperating with the three investigating agencies."

Lynch launched a robust defense of his track record almost immediately after HP made the accusations.

He said on Friday that he was still waiting for a detailed calculation of HP's $5 billion writedown of Autonomy's value and a published explanation of the allegations.

"Simply put these allegations are false, and in the absence of further detail we cannot understand what HP believes to be the basis for them," he said in a statement.

"We continue to reject these allegations in the strongest possible terms. Autonomy's financial accounts were properly maintained in accordance with applicable regulations, fully audited by Deloitte and available to HP during the due diligence process."

Lynch said he had not been approached by any regulatory authority, but he would co-operate with any investigation and looked forward to the opportunity to explain his position.

HP has refused to concede to Lynch's demands for more information about the allegations.

"While Dr. Lynch is eager for a debate, we believe the legal process is the correct method in which to bring out the facts and take action on behalf of our shareholders," it said in response to an open letter from Lynch last month

"In that setting, we look forward to hearing Dr. Lynch and other former Autonomy employees answer questions under penalty of perjury."

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

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