Keurboom boss banned from being a director for six years

Some people were called repeatedly in one day and it was also reported calls were made at night

The director of a telecoms firm that bombarded people with nuisance calls has been banned from running companies.

Gregory Rudd, 53, was the sole director of Cambridge company Keurboom Communications, which was fined £400,000 in 2017 for making nearly 100 million automated calls.

He has been banned from forming, promoting or managing a company for six years by the Insolvency Service.

The company went into voluntary liquidation in 2017.

The majority of the calls happened over 18 months - between October 2014 and March 2016 - and mostly related to road traffic accidents and PPI compensation.

Some people were called repeatedly in one day and it was also reported calls were made at night, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said.

The ICO began investigating the company after receiving more than 1,000 complaints.

99.5 million marketing calls

Mr Rudd's conduct while director was referred to the Insolvency Service, where it was alleged he failed to ensure his company complied with privacy policies, that Keurboom allowed its lines to be used for up to 99.5 million marketing calls without consent and that Keurboom was responsible for the acts described in 1,036 complaints.

Mr Rudd signed a disqualification undertaking, in which he did not dispute the claims.

Mark Bruce, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: "This ban is a warning to other directors, who contribute to the scourge that is nuisance calls, that there are severe repercussions for such behaviour."

The ban came into effect on 2 January.