Major works now put in jeopardy

‘This is a very sad day’

with Carillion, using alternative suppliers if necessary. We believe that these plans mean we will be able to keep any disruption to a minimum.”

In April last year, as part of a joint venture, it was awarded a contract worth more than £200m over five years to manage catering and accommodation facilities at 87 key defence sites across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire and London, employing 1,800 people.

In 2015, it signed a five-year contract also worth about £200m with the Ministry of Justice to manage facilities at about 50 prisons, including sites in Kent.

Carillion was responsible for building Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, one of the first under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract awarded in 1997. PFI deals mean private sector companies take the risk of building major public buildings but then recoup their investment by running its facilities afterwards, such as hospital car parks and cleaning services.

However, Carillion’s failure has led to some calls to bring its work back into public ownership.

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB union, said it is “the only way to safeguard the jobs and services this mess has put at risk”.

He said: “Merely propping up this botched shell of a company is not a secure or stable solution for our public services. It’s high time we brought this vital work back in-house.”

Previous work by Carillion in Kent has included building Spires Academy in Canterbury, Marsh Academy in New Romney and New Line Learning Academy in Maidstone.