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| Ex-Carillion finance director 'not asleep at wheel' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Carillion's former finance director, Zafar Khan, has denied being "asleep at the wheel" during his time in the role. | |
| The construction giant, which provided services for schools, hospitals and prisons, went into liquidation in the middle of January. | |
| Mr Khan was not working for the company when it collapsed, having been sacked last September. | |
| But he told the Work and Pensions Committee: "I believe I did everything that I could have done." | |
| He added: "As soon as I came into the role, we were looking to tackle the issues. The key focus of my time in the role was to bring net debt down." | |
| In a stormy committee session, Mr Khan also said he "spooked the board" when he reviewed the company's contracts. | |
| But former Carillion chief executive Keith Cochrane has told MPs that was not the reason for Mr Khan's dismissal. | |
| Mr Cochrane accepted that Mr Khan's findings were correct but told the committee: "Our concern was whether he was fully on top of all the cashflow arrangements and close to what was actually happening." | |
| Mr Cochrane added that Mr Khan's dismissal happened at the same time as other senior management changes. | |
| Earlier in the session, Mr Cochrane, who only took charge last July, said he was "truly sorry" about the company's collapse. | |
| "It was the worst possible outcome. This was a business worth fighting for. That's what I sought to do during my time as chief executive," he said. | |
| The previous chief executive Richard Howson ran the company for six years before stepping down after a profit warning. | The previous chief executive Richard Howson ran the company for six years before stepping down after a profit warning. |
| Carillion employed 43,000 people, including around 20,000 in the UK. | Carillion employed 43,000 people, including around 20,000 in the UK. |
| This month alone, more than 800 job losses have been announced and Mr Cochrane said: "Do I wish we'd done something about it sooner? Absolutely. | This month alone, more than 800 job losses have been announced and Mr Cochrane said: "Do I wish we'd done something about it sooner? Absolutely. |
| "Clearly with the benefit of hindsight should the board have been asking further, more probing questions? Perhaps." | "Clearly with the benefit of hindsight should the board have been asking further, more probing questions? Perhaps." |