Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to refer Carillion’s tendering activities and the connected actions of relevant officers of the company over the past three years to the Serious Fraud Office for inquiry.

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has written to the Insolvency Service and the Official Receiver to ask it to fast track its investigation into Carillion’s directors, and to broaden the scope of this to include former directors, to determine whether their actions caused detriment to creditors, employees and the pension schemes. He has also written to the chairman of the Financial Reporting Council and asked it to conduct an investigation into the preparation of Carillion’s accounts past and present, as well as the conduct of the company’s auditors.

If in the course of the Official Receiver’s investigation he discovers any indication of criminal offences having been committed, he can refer them to a prosecuting authority including the Serious Fraud Office.