Maxwell son 'regrets' scandal

Robert Maxwell's son Kevin has apologised for the role he played in the Maxwell scandal.

But he disputes the claim in the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) report released on Friday that his behaviour was "inexcusable".

"I immensely regret my part in the corporate collapse...and intensely regret the impact on all those who suffered, and particularly the pensioners," he said in an exclusive interview with BBC's Ten O Clock News.

Earlier on Friday, the official report from the DTI found that he bore "heavy responsibility" for the collapse of the Maxwell empire.

Speaking to the BBC, he said:"I've always said I had a case to answer....I have accounted for what I did and my actions."

But he said: "The only thing I could have done differently was not join the family firm in the first place."

Apportioning the blame

The report says that the "primary responsibility" for the collapse of the Maxwell business empire lies with its founder Robert Maxwell.

Many of the City of London's most high-profile institutions are also criticised, including city investment bank Goldman Sachs and Coopers & Lybrand, now part of PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC).

Kevin Maxwell's conduct was inexcusable

DTI report

The report looks at the stock market flotation of the Mirror Group, owners of the Mirror newspaper, in 1991 and the events that enabled Maxwell to buy shares in his own company and to rob the pension funds of more than £400m.

Kevin's response

"I accept my share of responsibility but personally I don't accept the term inexcusable. That's their opinion," Kevin Maxwell said on Friday.

Kevin Maxwell was previously acquitted on charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office and the report is unlikely to result in any further prosecutions. The DTI is considering whether further action is justified - amid speculation that Kevin and Ian Maxwell may be barred from being company directors.

He added: "I gave evidence for 21 days in the jury trial, where I wasn't seeking to excuse my behaviour, but I certainly provided a pretty detailed explanation of my conduct and the honestly held view that I had at the time, so I don't accept that. It's their opinion."

"If you could turn the clock back you would, but you can't," he said. "If you could turn the clock back you would, but you can't."

Kevin's role 'inexcusable'

The report highlights the "substantial assistance" Kevin Maxwell gave to his father.

It adds that he was brought up to believe that it was normal to use pension fund money to buy shares in other companies under Maxwell's control.

What he said to bankers and regulators "lacked frankness", it added.

"In our view, in light of this knowledge, Kevin Maxwell's conduct was inexcusable," it said.

City institutions

The report finds that Goldman Sachs bears a "substantial responsibility" for allowing Robert Maxwell to manipulate the stock market.

This report criticises merchant bank Samuel Montagu - now part of HSBC - for failing to consider prior DTI reports, even though there was nothing to alert the bank to seek out such evidence.

Crucially, the information that the banks provided for potential shareholders ahead of the Mirror Group flotation in the prospectus was "materially inaccurate and misleading".

The unlikelihood of further prosecutions may prompt criticism by those who say the City should be brought to task for its role in the pension funds theft.

Since the collapse of the Maxwell empire in late 1991, pensions law has been tightened up. But some of those who led the campaign of the Maxwell pensioners argue that it could still happen again.