Scaffolding firm in £425m clocking-on scam

The boss of a Glasgow-based scaffolding firm defrauded the Ministry of Defence out of £425,000 by employing an army of non-existent workers at the Trident submarine project in Plymouth.

James McLaughlin and three others will be sentenced on April 29 for their part in the swindle, which saw McLaughlin employing up to 58 non-existent workers at a time using a simple clocking-in scam, inflating the hours of genuine unsuspecting staff, and delivering bribes to earn up to £27,000 a week.

The court heard that the con was so blatant that even when workers were on strike, many of McLaughlin's staff still put in claims for full shifts, reported Contract Journal. Construction News quoted prosecuting QC Paul Garlic as saying: 'The audacity of the fraud was astonishing.'

McLaughlin, his step-daughter Rebekah Hart and site manager Robert Burns all pleaded guilty to various fraud charges. Also convicted was quantity surveyor Christopher Ackerman who was paid to turn a blind eye, although he claimed he was only guilty of 'stupidity' and that he thought the bribes were gifts.