High Court action against former Carillion chair and CEO dramatically dropped
Court action against two former board members at collapsed contractor Carillion has been dramatically dropped at the 11th hour.
The Insolvency Service has decided not to pursue cases against former Carillion chair Philip Green and interim chief executive Keith Cochrane. The pair were among five former non-executive directors of the company who were due in the High Court in London this morning (October 16).
On Friday (October 13), the Insolvency Service told trade title Construction News that it had cancelled the disqualifucation proceedings against the group, which was being brought under section six of the Companies Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
An Insolvency Service spokesperson said: “The secretary of state is obliged to keep the public interest in all cases under constant review, and it was concluded that continuing with the proceedings against the non-executive directors was no longer in the public interest.
“On that basis, the parties agreed that the proceedings should be concluded by way of agreement and without the need for a trial or the associated expense.
“This concludes the proceedings.”
Other former directors who have escaped the High Court this morning are: former audit committee chair Andrew Dougal; former remuneration committee chair Alison Horner; and ex-sustainability committee chair Ceri Powell, who also sat on other committees, including Carillion’s audit and remuneration committees.
Former Carillion chief executive Richard Howson and finance directors Richard Adam and Zafar Khan have already been hit with disqualifications of eigght, 12.5 and 11 years respectively.
