Bosses of nuisance call companies to be held personally liable

A consultation on the plans is being launched, though the idea was first proposed in 2016 and was meant to be in place last year.

In 2017 consumers received 3.9 billion nuisance calls and texts but, under current law, only companies themselves are liable.

Since 2010, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has struggled to recover the fines because many firms went into liquidation to avoid them.

ICO said it had collected just 54 per cent of the £17.8 million it was owed over the past eight years because company directors “try to escape paying penalties by declaring bankruptcy - only to open up again under a different name”.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) now says it wants the ICO to have the “powers it needs to hold company directors directly responsible”.

Margot James, minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, said: “Nuisance calls are a blight on society and we are determined to stamp them out.

“For too long a minority of company directors have escaped justice by liquidating their firms and opening up again under a different name.”

ICO deputy commissioner Steve Wood added: “We have been calling for a change to the law for a while to deter those who deliberately set out to disrupt people with troublesome calls, texts and emails.

“These proposed changes will increase the tools we have to protect the public.”