Call centre director banned for 8 years after pension scheme negligence
Nottingham-based company ran unregistered pension scheme, risking over £200,000 from people’s pensions.
Call centre director banned for 8 years after pension scheme negligence
Philip James Hopkinson, 47, from Nottingham, was the director of Target Source Media Limited which initially operated as a call centre from November 2011 focused on buying and selling data.
In June 2016, Hopkinson on behalf of Target Source Media Limited, established the Target Source Media Pension Scheme. Less than a year later, he transferred the administration of the occupational pension scheme to a third party and over the next five months, members of the public transferred over £200,000 into the pension scheme, which remained unregistered in breach of the Pensions Act 2004.
Hopkinson subsequently admitted that he never met or spoke with those he appointed nor verified their ability or experience to administer a pension scheme to ensure potential members’ funds were invested correctly and that the risk to members would be minimised.
In June 2017, Hopkinson resigned as a director of Target Source Media Limited but remained as an employee for a further two to three months and helped authorise the transfer of members’ funds out of the pension scheme bank account.
In addition, at the time of the winding-up of Target Source Media Limited in 2018, the company had separate debts of over £65,000.
Following an Insolvency Service investigation, Hopkinson signed an 8-year disqualification undertaking which began on 25 June 2021.
Neil North Chief Investigator of the Insolvency Service said:
Mr Hopkinson breached the duties placed on him as a director of a limited company and as a result, members of the public have been unnecessarily put at risk and have potentially lost funds from their occupational pensions.
In such cases, the Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take action to remove the privilege of limited liability status from such individuals.
Notes to editors
Philip James Hopkinson is from Nottingham and his date of birth is December 1973.
Target Source Media Limited (company number 078469400.
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.
Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.
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MHRA recalls contaminated Irbesartan- batches as precautionary measure
Press release
Patients should not stop any treatments without consulting their doctor or pharmacist
The MHRA today has issued a recall for 25 batches of Irbesartan-containing medicinal products due to contamination with an impurity that could potentially increase the risk of cancer over time.
This is a precautionary measure to prevent further use and there is no evidence that this impurity (5-(4’-(azidomethyl)-[1,1’-biphenyl]-2yl)-1H-tetrazole), has caused any harm to patients. The recall is for pharmacies and wholesalers and is not a patient-level recall. Suddenly stopping medication for high blood-pressure can be risky, so patients should not stop any treatments without consulting their healthcare team.
The MHRA continues to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that an adequate supply of these products remains available for patients.
See all batch numbers at Class 2 Medicines Recall: Various Marketing Authorisation Holders and parallel distributor companies, Irbesartan-containing products, EL (21)A/19
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said:
Patient safety is at the heart of what we do. We’re recalling batches of certain sartan-containing products as a precautionary measure while we continue our investigation. It’s important that healthcare professionals check their stock to quarantine and return these batches.
If you’ve been taking one of the affected products, continue to take your medication. Speak with your doctor or pharmacist before stopping any treatment – they can address any concerns and can advise you on the best course of action.
Previous recalls of these types of products in 2018, 2019 and June 2021 are part of an ongoing investigation. The MHRA is working with other medicines regulators on this issue.
Notes to editors
- The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe. All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.
- Sartan-containing medicines are indicated for essential hypertension, heart failure, and treatment of renal disease in adult patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus as part of an antihypertensive regimen
Published 9 August 2021
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