PMQs: Theresa May accuses Labour of being anti-business as Jeremy Corbyn attacks Government over collapse of Carillion

Theresa May has accused Labour of being anti-business as she said the Government had protected taxpayers from an “unacceptable bailout” following the collapse of Carillion.

The construction company plunged into liquidation on Monday after talks with banks and ministers to secure its financial future failed.

The Prime Minister was repeatedly questioned by Jeremy Corbyn about the Government’s handling of the crisis as the pair clashed at PMQs.

Mr Corbyn accused the Government of being “very negligent” in the way it had handled its relationship with Carillion as he suggested ministers were overseeing a “broken system”.

Theresa May 
Theresa May addresses the House of Commons during PMQs Credit: PA

But Mrs May hit back and claimed Mr Corbyn was criticising the Government for ideological reasons.

She said: “What we want is to provide good quality public services, delivered at best value to the taxpayer.

"We're making sure in this case that public services continue to be provided, that workers in those public services are supported and taxpayers are protected.

Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader Credit: PA

"But what Labour oppose isn't just a role for private companies in public services - but the private sector as a whole.

“The vast majority of people in this country in employment are employed by the private sector but the shadow chancellor calls businesses the real enemy.

"Labour want the highest taxes in our peacetime history. Labour policies would cause a run on the pound.

“This is a Labour Party that has turned its back on investment, on growth, on jobs. A Labour Party that will always put politics before people.”

Mrs May repeatedly stressed that the Government was a “customer of Carillion, not the manager of Carillion”.

“It is also important that we have protected taxpayers from an unacceptable bailout of a private company,” she said.

But Mr Corbyn insisted the company's collapse had shown the model of out-sourcing services to the private sector needed to be reviewed.

He said: "This isn't one isolated case of Government negligence and corporate failure - it's a broken system.

"Under this Government, Virgin and Stagecoach can spectacularly mismanage the East Coast Main Line and be let off a £2 billion payment.

"Capita and Atos can continue to wreck the lives through damaging disability assessments of many people with disabilities and win more Government-funded contracts.

"G4S promised to provide security at the Olympics - failed to do so and the Army had to step in and save the day.

"These corporations need to be shown the door - we need our public services provided by public employees with a public service ethos and a strong public oversight.”

Theresa May
Theresa May addresses MPs in the House of Commons Credit: PA

Mr Corbyn urged the Prime Minister to “act to end this costly racket of the relationship between Government and some of these companies”.

The Government has called for an Insolvency Service investigation into Carillion's directors to be "fasttracked and extended in scope".

Ministers are under intense scrutiny over decisions to award contracts to Carillion in 2017 after a profit warning was issued.

The company employs 43,000 people with nearly 20,000 of them based in the UK.

                                                                                                    

Theresa May: Amber Rudd petitioning for Bayeux Tapestry to be shown in Hastings

Theresa May addresses the House of Commons Credit: PA

The Prime Minister is asked by a Tory MP about where the artwork could be put on display when it comes to the UK as part of a loan deal signed off by French president Emmanuel Macron

Mrs May says it is "very significant that the Bayeux Tapestry is going to be coming to the United Kingdom" as she reveals a senior frontbencher has already put in a bid: The Home Secretary.

Ms Rudd is the MP for Hastings which would make a certain amount of historical sense. 

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Mrs May says the Government will be encouraging companies to follow the supermarket's lead. 

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Theresa May: Labour always puts politics before people

Jeremy Corbyn finishes his set of six questions by attacking the links between the Government and private sector companies like Carillion. 

But Mrs May responds that "a third of the Carillion contracts were made by the Labour government" before launching an attack on the opposition. 

She says that Labour "opposes the private sector as a whole" and wanted to increase taxes to the highest level in the UK's peacetime history. 

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader Credit: PA

"This is a Labour Party that has turned its back on investment and growth," she say.

She also claims that labour under Mr Corbyn "always put politics before people". She sits down and Tory backbenchers shout "more!". 

Jeremy Corbyn attacks executive bonuses at Carillion

Mr Corbyn says that Carillion was paying "wildly excessive bonuses to directors" despite its problems. 

"One rule for the super rich and another for everybody else," he says. 

He asks the PM for an assurance that not a penny more will be paid to the directors of Carillion. 

Theresa May says a probe into executive pay at Carillion is being fast-tracked as announced by the Business Secretary Greg Clark on Tuesday. 

Theresa May, the Prime Minister Credit: PA

"Of course people are concerned about this issue and are rightly asking questions about it," she says. 

Mrs May again stresses that "we are a customer of Carillion, not a manager of Carillion" and that the Government had acted to protect taxpayers from an unacceptable bail out. 

Jeremy Corbyn: Government has been very negligent over Carillion

The Labour leader uses his first question to grill Theresa May about the Government's decision to award contracts to Carillion after a profit warning was issued. 

Mrs May says that profit warnings are issued when companies expect to make less money than they anticipated. 

She defends the decision to award contracts to the construction company and says: "If it was the case that the Government pulled out of a contract whenever a profit warning was issued that would be the best way to ensure that a company failed and jobs were lost."

She also points out that the Labour run Leeds City Council identified Carillion as a preferred bidder for a contract just last week. 

Mr Corbyn comes back and says "it is the Government's responsibility to ensure Carillion is properly managed". 

He suggests the Government handed contracts to Carillion either "to keep the company afloat or it was negligent of the crisis coming down the line". 

Mrs May rises to her feet and says she will answer questions when Mr Corbyn asks one, prompting Tory MPs to cheer. 

A furious Mr Corbyn then thunders: "They clearly have been very negligent." 

Theresa May: It is a difficult time for Carillion employees

The Prime Minister is now on her feet in the House of Commons and she kicks off today's PMQs by responding to a question from a Labour MP who says the Government must take responsibility for its role in the collapse of Carillion. 

Mrs May is asked to guarantee that the company's apprentices will be able to complete their training regardless of Carillion's fate. 

Mrs May says she recognises it is a "difficult time" for employees of Carillion but stresses that the Government is "not running Carillion, the Government is a customer of Carillion". 

She says the Government is aware of the apprentices issue and that ministers are looking at what can be done.

Theresa May leaves Downing Street and heads to Parliament for PMQs

Theresa May, the Prime Minister Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA

List of MPs selected to ask a question at PMQs

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