黑洞社区

Carillion鈥檚 former finance director and chief executive pocketed more than 拢15m between them in the 10 years to 2016, according to the MPs running the inquiry into the firm鈥檚 collapse.

Ex-finance director Richard Adam (pictured), who retired from Carillion at the end of 2016, was reportedly paid 拢8.3m in the decade leading up to his departure.

Sacked chief executive Richard Howson, who was continuing to be paid right up until the firm went bust, earned 拢7.2m in the lead up to the company鈥檚 demise.

The chairs of the inquiry, Labour MPs Rachel Reeves and Frank Field, released the figures in a letter to the chief executive of The Pensions Regulator (TPR) Lesley Titcomb, urging her to claw back money from directors in order to help cover the firm鈥檚 拢800m pension deficit.

The letter also revealed the pay packets of Carillion chairman Philip Green (拢709,000), interim chief executive Keith Cochrane (拢89,000), chair of the remuneration committee Alison Horner (拢182,000) and non-executive director and chair of audit committee Andrew Dougal (拢316,000) 鈥� although not all were employed during the period between 2007 and 2016.

The news comes as it was revealed TPR was considering issuing a contribution notice 鈥� a legally enforceable demand for a financial contribution to the pension deficit 鈥� against former Carillion directors.

As it currently stands, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) will be forced to pick up the 拢800m bill left in the wake of Carillon鈥檚 collapse.

But the TPR is investigating whether the company or its directors attempted to avoid their obligations to Carillion鈥檚 pension schemes.

Field said: 鈥淭he Carillion directors continued to line their pockets as the pension entitlements of their workforce evaporated, with the PPF due to shoulder the staggering pension deficit they left behind.

鈥淚t appears though that TPR could set its sights on more than those ill-gotten gains and go after the directors it finds responsible for everything they鈥檝e got.

鈥淲e urge TPR to take this opportunity to demonstrate the new direction and vigour it keeps professing. Clear, exemplary action, not words, is necessary now to restore any confidence in its ability do its job and protect the pensions of ordinary people.鈥�

TPR first announced it was initiating an investigation into whether the company or its directors attempted to avoid their obligations to the company鈥檚 pension schemes a few days after Carillion went bust.

At the time, the MPs behind the inquiry said that TPR had chosen an unfortunate moment to finally intervene 鈥� when there was no money left in the company to put toward the huge deficit.