Six years after the collapse of Carillion, Howson has been disqualified by the Insolvency Service over his involvement in financial decisions which led to the £200m misstatement of accounts over a four-year period.

There is ongoing litigation against the remaining directors with a trial due to start on 16 October.

As a top executive at the construction giant, Howson was integral to decisions taken at Carillion to incorrectly account for and report revenue and costs on major construction contracts in its consolidated financial statements for the years ending 31 December 2015 and 2016.