Cable plans new law to punish directors of failed firms

Business secretary Vince Cable is to unveil a new corporate law that will see directors of failed companies held personally liable for racking-up debts or managing businesses poorly.

A number of other new rules are also set to be introduced, according to the Sunday Times report, including a new register of the real owners of these companies, new statutory duties for bank bosses and permission for City watchdogs to ban directors from practice. The new rules will be published in a discussion document entitled Transparency and Trust and are part of a wider plan to crack down on tax evasion and corporate wrongdoing. The plan follows David Cameron's pledge last month at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland to stop the UK from becoming a haven for "shell" companies which p...