Number 10 Cobra committee to meet to discuss Carillion’s collapse

The government’s emergency Cobra committee is meeting today to discuss Carillion’s collapse.

Carrillion announced this morning that it had filed for liquidation, putting 20,000 UK jobs at risk. The construction giant was struggling under the weight of its £1.5bn debt pile, and talks with lenders and the government over the weekend failed.

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Carillion holds contracts across a wide range of sectors, including health, defence, transport and education.

Defence secretary Gavin Williamson announced the Cobra meeting to MPs, saying: “There will be a Cobra meeting later on today to look at addressing some of the most immediate issues.”

Cabinet office minister David Lidington is also due to make a statement to the House of Commons about Carillion this afternoon.

Frank Field MP, chair of the Work and Pensions select committee, said: “Carillion took on mega borrowings while its pension deficit ballooned. We called over a year ago for TPR [The Pensions Regulator] to have mandatory clearance powers for corporate activities like these that put pension schemes at risk, and powers to impose truly deterrent fines that would focus boardroom minds.”