Rudi Klein, who heads up the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group, tells BBC News that the impact of Carillion's collapse will be felt far and wide.

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The Pension Protection Fund, the lifeboat scheme, confirmed that it will now manage Carillion's schemes.

A spokesperson from the PPF said: "We can confirm that we have been notified of the liquidation. We know this news will raise serious concerns for all people involved. We want to reassure members of Carillion's defined benefit pension schemes that their benefits are protected by the PPF."

Trading in Carillion's shares has been suspended after the construction firm announced it was going into liquidation.

But elsewhere on the London markets, the FTSE 100 is pretty much flat in early trading.

It is down 3 points - or 0.05% - to 7,775 points after finishing last week at a record high.

Image source, Getty Images

Liberal Democrats leader Vince Cable says that ministers must now work to minimise the damage from the collapse of Carillion.

He also said: “We also urgently need a parliamentary inquiry into some of the very questionable decisions made in the past few months, not least the award of public contracts to a company that was clearly in danger of collapse.

"The issue of the former chief executive still being paid his salary, plus perks and bonus, is also a reward for failure that has to be looked into.”

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Image source, Getty Images

Commenting on why the government kept awarding contracts to Carillion last year despite its deteriorating finances, Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, said: "Ever since the profits warnings were announced in the course of last year, the various government departments that had business with Carillion have been drawing up contingency plans about how they might respond.

"In the event of the sort of crisis we've seen, [Carillion] hoped that they were going to be successful with their bankers and their creditors in the way that they assured us that they were confident they would succeed in doing."

He said that the contracts awarded after July 2017 were "joint venture arrangements" meaning that Carillion's partners in the projects could them take over.

Image source, Carillion

Network Rail has announced that it is activating its contingency plans following the collapse of Carillion.

It said: "Passengers can be reassured that their services will be running as normal today as Carillion's work for Network Rail does not involve the day-to-day running of the railway.

"We will be working closely with the administrators and Carillion's management team to ensure projects that they are working on continue and that the supply chain is maintained for this important work."

It said: "Our aim is to ensure, as far as possible, that this news has as little impact as possible on our projects to grow and expand the railway network."

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Cabinet office minister David Lidington, said it is "regrettable" that Carillion has been unable to secure refinancing.

Asked why the government didn't step in to save Carillion, he said that the taxpayer could not be expected to bail-out a private sector company "particularly when their troubles arose for the most part from a side of the business that is nothing to do with UK government contracts".

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Oxfordshire County Council has announced that it has taken over services provided by Carillion including some school meals and cleaning.

It said: "Affected staff are being asked to report for work as usual. The county council has been planning for the possibility of Carillion’s collapse for some time, and schools have been closely involved."

It said there are 90 schools supplied with school meals by Carillion to around 18,000 students.

Cabinet Office shadow minister Jon Trickett says the government "must act quickly to bring these public sector contracts back in-house to protect public services and ensure employees, supply chain companies, taxpayers and pension fund members are protected".

But he said: "Given £2bn worth of government contracts were awarded in the time three profit warnings were given by Carillion, a serious investigation needs to be launched into the government's handling of this matter.

"It is vital that shareholders and creditors are not allowed to walk away with the rewards from profitable contracts while the taxpayer bails out loss-making parts of the business."

Image source, Getty Images

Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London, says that members of Carillion's 13 UK pension schemes - which have a total shortfall of £587m - should not be worried about their retirements.

The Financial Times is reporting that the 28,000 members of Carillion's numerous pension schemes will now be transferred to the Pension Protection Fund.

Mr Webb says: "Carillion workers will understandably be devastated by the announcement of the liquidation of their firm. But they, and retired Carillion workers, can be assured that the pensions ‘lifeboat’, the Pensions Protection Fund, will help to protect their pensions.

"Although there is a big shortfall across the Carillion pension schemes, the PPF is financially strong and will be able to pay out pensions in line with its normal rules. The deficit in the Carillion schemes will not sink the pensions lifeboat."

The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that it will temporarily suspend trading in Carillion's shares.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said the collapse of Carillion is "disastrous news".

He said: "RMT will be demanding urgent meetings with Network Rail and the train companies today with the objective of protecting our members' jobs and pensions.

"The infrastructure and support works must be immediately taken in house with the workforce protected."

Image source, Carillion

Jim Kennedy, national officer for local government at Unite, said that a public inquiry into Carillion was now needed.

He said: "Public services, vast amounts of public money, thousands of jobs - including in a lengthy supply chain of insecure agency workers who are also at risk - and workers' hard-saved pensions are all in danger of being dragged under by yet another bout of reckless corporate irresponsibility."

He added: "There are also serious questions that need to be asked and answered about Carillion's conduct. Did directors move to protect their bonuses before the financial stability of the company? Has the company mushroomed because it built its business on unrealistic undercutting and blacklisting?

"Why did the government continue to hand over public money to a company that had issued repeated profits warnings?"

Indonesia's stock exchange has reopened for the afternoon session after about a dozen people were injured in a floor collapse, according to Reuters.

The boss of the exchange said all staff were safe after a footbridge caved in over the reception area of the building.

"A 100% of bourse members are connected and safe", said Tito Sulistio.

Mr Sulistio confirmed that the exchange's system was not affected during the collapse which happened during the midday trading break.

Over the weekend, it was expected that Carillion would file for administration.

However, this morning it said it would file for voluntary liquidation, a process that would be handled by an Official Receiver.

ITV business editor Joel Hills explains:

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Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, who chairs the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in the House of Commons, was being interviewed live on the Today programme about Carillion when the news broke that it was going into liquidation.

He said the news came as no surprise to him. "There's got to be some learning from this," he added. "Hopefully the administrator will continue to perform all the contracts."

Mr Jenkin said the government had been "carrying a lot of risk" from Carillion and it needed to understand what that meant for its balance sheet.

Carillion's chairman Philip Green also said this morning: "We understand that HM Government will be providing the necessary funding required by the Official Receiver to maintain the public services carried on by Carillion staff, subcontractors and suppliers.”

Carillion says that anticipates that PwC, the accountancy firm, will be appointed as "special managers" to act on behalf of the official receiver that will oversee the liquidation of the company.