[Image: Daily Mirror.]

Irresponsible company bosses who “line their own pockets” while failing to protect workers’ pension schemes are to be hit with huge fines, under plans to be announced by Theresa May’s government within weeks.

Writing in the Observer after a week which saw the collapse of Carillion, the construction and outsourcing giant, with a deficit in its pension scheme of up to £900m, the prime minister says her government will act urgently to stamp out “abuse”.

A total of 28,000 members of Carillion’s 13 pension schemes are facing a cut to their retirement funds.

Other measures being considered for inclusion in a white paper in March would give regulators new powers to block or place conditions on takeovers that are deemed to put pension schemes at risk. The regulator will also be given the power to request information about how companies run schemes.

Resurrecting a commitment with which she launched her premiership – to govern “not for a privileged few, but for every one of us” – May says that while governments should not get involved in day-to-day management of businesses, the state should act now “in favour of ordinary working people”.

The trouble is, we’ve heard it all before:

https://twitter.com/alexnunns/status/954843757572173825

Sky News doesn’t seem to think her word is worth much:

Labour’s Debbie Abrahams has pointed out that Mrs May had two previous opportunities to do the right thing – and didn’t:

And now?

It’s all true. Watch how this plays out and see if Mrs May does anything.

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