Focusing on the directors is pointless.
How about – I don’t know, someone at random – George Osborne?
In 2014, as chancellor, he proudly trumpeted the fact Carillion were the first beneficiaries of a scheme called the Direct Lending Facility, the Cameron government providing a £34 million loan to help secure a contract in Dubai, taking full credit for that.
Fast forward to last week – a US investment fund called BlackRock joins in with a frenzied shorting of the Carillion share price, effectively hammering the coffin shut. BlackRock has a guy called George Osborne on its payroll as an adviser (£650k per annum for a one day week, apparently).
Forward again to yesterday – the Evening Standard’s editorial on the matter places the blame for the demise of Carillion firmly at the feet of civil servants, as apparently they decide who government contracts are awarded to, not ministers. Who’s the editor of the Evening Standard? I forget.
This is little more than a game to the Tory party leadership, one in which they can win but not lose, in any meaningful way.