Ex-Carillion bosses face ban

The Insolvency Service has commenced proceedings on behalf of new business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to disqualify eight directors and former directors of Carillion.

The construction and outsourcing company publicly collapsed into administration in 2018 with around 3,000 redundancies.

An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: "We can confirm that on 12 January 2021 the secretary of state issued company director disqualification proceedings in the public interest against eight directors and former directors of Carillion."

The proceedings will name Richard Adam, Richard Howson, Zafar Khan, Keith Cochrane, Andrew Dougal, Phillip Green, Alison Horner and Ceri Powell.

Carillion was wound up by the court on 15 January 2018 and the official receiver was appointed as the liquidator. Following the official receiver's report about the conduct of directors, Kwarteng has decided it is in the public interest that a court makes an order disqualifying the directors on the grounds that their conduct while acting as directors of Carillion makes them "unfit to be concerned in the management of a company".

Carillion's catering arm once served 32,000 meals to pupils at more than 200 schools and 18,5000 patient meals at NHS hospitals daily.

Disqualified directors are not able to be a director of any company registered in the UK or an overseas company that has connections with the UK, or be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, for a set period of time.

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