MPs demand more evidence from Carillion bosses

Aaron Morby 7 years ago
Share

Watchdog MPs have demanded more answers from Carillion chiefs after they failed adequately to address what action they took to save the group in the months before its collapse.

Former CEO Richard Howson has been called to provide more details about the Royal Liverpool Hospital concrete beam failures
Former CEO Richard Howson has been called to provide more details about the Royal Liverpool Hospital concrete beam failures

The former directors are being pressed for more detail on points in their testimonies to the joint business and pensions committee inquiry, particularly where it appeared to contradict other evidence.

The directors had blamed a number of different factors for Carillion’s collapse on 15 January.

Rachel Reeves and Frank Field, who are chairing the inquiry into Carillion’s collapse branded the board earlier this month as “a series of delusional characters” who “maintained that everything was hunky dory until it all went suddenly and unforeseeably wrong”.

The Committees have now contacted the Federation of Small Business offering them the chance to respond to the dismissal by the Carillion directors of their evidence that Carillion were “notorious late payers” who “abused their dominant position” and left suppliers waiting for payment even beyond their extraordinarily long contracted payment terms.

Former CEO Richard Howson has been called upon to provide more detail about the structural beams at the Royal Liverpool Hospital whose design flaws were among the many factors ascribed some responsibility for Carillion’s downfall.

He has also been asked about his dealings on the Qatar contract – singled out for particular blame for the company’s demise –  and how much he was paid for his ongoing work in Qatar after he was removed as CEO.

Former finance director Zafar Khan has been asked to clarify again the terms of his departure, including whether a non-disclosure agreement was attached to it.

Meanwhile chairman Philip Green is asked about the “surprise” deterioration in the company’s cash flow shown in the September 2017 presentation that Zafar Khan stated had “spooked” the board and led to his dismissal.

Also Richard Adam, finance director between April 2007 – December 2016, is being called on to explain in more detail what he thinks happened to the “healthy” company he left, for it to go into compulsory liquidation a year later, and about acquisitions like Alfred McAlpine, which added £650m “goodwill” to Carillion’s books but otherwise held net liabilities of £50m.

Latest news

Breyer Group battles for survival as rivals circle

Housing maintenance firm fights three winding up petitions in a month
14 hours ago

Galliford Try gets go-ahead for Milton Keynes PRS tower

33-storey tower needs gateway 2 approval before work can start
8 hours ago

Careys facing £2.4m claim by developer over demolition cartel

Giant Hong Kong developer claims it was overcharged on Lots Road Power Station job
14 hours ago

Lendlease Construction renamed Bovis

US private equity firm completes £35m purchase of UK contracting business and rebrands
13 hours ago

Multiplex profit drops a third as revenue rises to £780m

Spate of new orders sets contractor up for three years of work
13 hours ago

Galliford Try and Breheny land latest Sizewell C road deals

More infrastructure deals for new nuclear power station
1 day ago

Worker trapped in collapsed septic tank pit

Contractor and director fined after worker suffers multiple fractures
14 hours ago

Homes England buys stalled Broad Marsh site

Demolition to finally be completed as developer hunt begins
1 day ago

Vistry go-ahead for 353 homes at Rochester Riverside

Work to start on next phase of Kent town regeneration at end of this year
1 day ago

M&E firm J S Wright collapsed owing £19m

Trade creditors hit for £11.4m by employee-owned Midlands firm
2 days ago

Right to work checks to be extended to self-employed

Government plans crackdown on illegal working and rogue employers
2 days ago

Midlands developer turns to London with £1bn resi schemes trio

SevenCapital plans 1,000 flats in Kensington, Islington and the Isle of Dogs projects
2 days ago

Deck falls off huge scissor lift at Winvic site

Two men seriously injured as platform plunges to the ground
4 days ago

Weston targets Build to Rent with new division

Weston Partnerships signs first deals with asset managers and councils
2 days ago

Bouygues seals deal for £119m Cardiff college campus

Construction to start in June on two new buildings
4 days ago

£140m cash injection to speed-up flood defence schemes

Funding part of £2.65bn investment over the next two years
2 days ago

Bid race starts for £15bn schools framework refresh

DfE throws framework open to more contractors
5 days ago

Berkeley’s £600m Borough Triangle project approved

Controversial scheme features two towers of 38 and 44-storeys
5 days ago

London Mayor calls in blocked 600-bed student scheme

Refused 20-storey London PBSA block may still be built
4 days ago

HG to build 500-bed London Stratford student scheme

Work will start later this year subject to gateway 2 safety approval
5 days ago

Arrest after pedestrian death on construction site

Tragedy during site preparation works for new Wigan car park
5 days ago

British Steel threatens closure of Scunthorpe blast furnaces

Chinese owners say sectional steel and rail supplies will be maintained
5 days ago

Planning green light for Sheffield warehouse site

Existing factories to be demolished in new scheme for Rula Developments
5 days ago

New rail property company to unlock land for 40,000 homes

First four sites released in Newcastle, Cambridge, Manchester, and Nottingham
6 days ago

Drainage specialist Subscan files administration notice

Specialist employing 131 people files court notice
6 days ago

Four win Network Rail £300m engineering design deal

Eastern region deal will include design for Northern Powerhouse Rail
6 days ago

Funding go-ahead for Banwell bypass after fresh cost hike

Galliford Try contract rises £14m to £64m after final design change
6 days ago

Graham wins Southport £75m Marine Lakes Centre

Firm replaces Kier which parted ways with backer Sefton Council
6 days ago

Chancellor unveils extra £2bn capital spend a year

Construction promised a defence dividend in military base and homes upgrade work
6 days ago

McLaren confirms subcontractor team on £135m warehouse job

Work starts on TN2 Gateway site in Kent.
6 days ago

Contractor services