How extraordinary.......

I caught this story late last week.

Accident Group boss killed in car crash

The former boss of an accident claims group who sacked his 2,500 staff by text message has died in a car crash in Spain, the Foreign Office has said.

Mark Langford died in the early hours of the morning
Multimillionaire Mark Langford, the former head of personal injury insurance firm The Accident Group (TAG), was killed in a road accident in the Spanish resort of Marbella where he lived with his wife Deborah.

Mr Langford was the founder of the Manchester-based firm which collapsed in 2003 with debts of around £100 million.

Revenue and Customs were pursuing Mr Langford for unpaid tax.

TAG's employees received no redundancy money and the company was liquidated in January 2004.

A Foreign Office spokesman said they were unable to confirm details of the crash, which is believed to have occurred in the early hours of this morning.

According to reports, Mr Langford was served with a tax demand as he prepared to host a party on board his £1.5 million yacht in southern Spain.

In addition to bankruptcy proceedings, Mr Langford was facing moves by the Department of Trade and Industry to ban him from acting as a company director.

Mr Langford, 42, and his 40-year-old wife also own a mansion in Congleton, Cheshire.

Three other company directors have already been disqualified - Gary Hoddes until May 2011, his brother Phil until May 2008 and Jacqui Brennan until September 2008.

Following the firm's collapse, an employment tribunal condemned senior management for "cynically manipulating" their staff.