Revealed: Millionaire Scots chief executive of Carillion is paid adviser to Tory Government

THE millionaire Scot in charge of Carillion when it went bust is a paid adviser to the UK Government.

As thousands of Carillion workers and contractors face an uncertain future, ex-CEO Keith Cochrane remains a central figure in an elite network of business leaders who advise Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

Mr Cochrane, who was on £750,000 a year when the construction firm went under, is the lead non-executive director at the Scotland Office.

The part-time role pays £300 a meeting and the chartered accountant – who lives in a £1.2m mansion in Perthshire – was appointed to the position in 2015 on a three-year deal.

Mr Cochrane, the former boss of engineering firm Weir Group, took on a £61,000-a-year non-executive directorship at Carillion in 2015 but last July became chief executive of what was the UK’s second-biggest construction firm on an interim basis.

Just weeks before he was due to step down from the role, Carillion was forced into liquidation owing £1.3billion to the banks and threatening tens of thousands of jobs.

SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said: “It is utterly disgraceful that at a time when thousands of Carillion employees don’t even know whether they will have a job to go to each morning, the Scotland Office and David Mundell keep in place Keith Cochrane as an adviser – despite his role in the shoddy and shambolic running of Carillion.

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“And whilst contractors and workers face increased uncertainty, interim chief executive Mr Cochrane – as well as others at the very top of the company – will continue to pocket his £750,000 salary until July.

“His role as an adviser to the Scotland Office is untenable, and a failure by David Mundell to remove him from his post would be a glaring insult to workers and taxpayers.”

Mr Cochrane was appointed to the Scotland Office role in December 2015 after an open recruitment round. All non-executive directors are entitled to claim £300 per meeting and Mr Cochrane attended nine meetings in 2016/17.

When he was appointed to the role, Mr Cochrane said: “It’s important for big companies to put something back into their community and this is a way I can do that.”

Mr Cochrane is a member of the Scotland Office’s joint management board, which includes three other non-executive directors, the Scottish Secretary David Mundell and Advocate General Richard Keen QC.

Along with the other directors, Mr Cochrane monitors the Scotland Office’s performance and advises Mr Mundell on a string of issues including Brexit, devolution of more powers and regeneration projects known as City Deals.

Much of the blame for Carillion’s woes have been put on former chief executive Richard Howson, who worked his way up the firm to the top job over 20 years.

Mr Howson, who headed the company from 2012 until July 2017, pocketed £1.5m in 2016.

Amid growing concerns about Carillion’s future, Mr Cochrane spent the days leading up to its liquidation trying to find a way for the firm to keep trading, including asking for a Government bailout.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “All departments have external NEDs to provide strategic advice to their management boards in accordance with the Government’s corporate governance code.

“The Scotland Office has no contracts with Carillion and has had no role in any decision-making in relation to other public sector contracts. Mr Cochrane continues in his role with the Scotland Office.”

The Sunday Post attempted to contact Mr Cochrane at his home and through the Scotland Office but did not get any response.

We must shine a light on this murky system of crony capitalism

by Tim Roache, General Secretary of the GMB

The collapse of Carillion has brought to the fore an issue GMB has long warned governments about – outsourcing public services to companies who prize profit above all else is wrong and it doesn’t work.

GMB has called for a full inquiry into the outsourcing of public service contracts, all PFI deals and for that inquiry to examine the relationship between companies that are awarded contracts and the politicians who award them. The murky system of contracts and sub-contracts smacks of crony capitalism and we can’t wait until the next disaster for the Government to tackle it.  Carillion’s chairman, Philip Green advised the Conservative Government on corporate responsibility (insert your own joke here) and was awarded a CBE in 2014 for “services to business” – just two years after Carillion admitted blacklisting workers.

Another Carillion boss is the former chief executive of the Wates Group – a group that donated £430,000 to the Tories.  On top of all of that, another Tory-donating hedge fund actually made money betting on Carillion’s collapse.

We know the directors who put public services at risk and workers’ jobs on the line but we need to know the politicians who helped them. These are serious questions. It is time for serious answers.