Directors who put their companies into liquidation to avoid fines for making nuisance calls from the Information Commissioner (IC), and then start up again under a new company name are to be targeted with new laws making them personally responsible, rather than their company.

The change has been driven by the revelation, by the Which? consumer group, that out of 22 fines imposed by the IC on companies only four had been paid in full and two in part, with a proportion of firms owing fines simply liquidating and re-starting to avoid payment.

The new laws will be effective from April 2017 and will allow the IC to fine the directors rather than the company, with penalties up to £500,000.