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Here’s Greg Rudd, whose telecoms company has beaten the record for making those junk marketing calls that are so universally hated.

Keurboom Communications Ltd made almost 100 million automated calls – sometimes several in the same day to the same people, and some at night.

That has resulted in a £400,000 fine, the biggest ever imposed by the Information Commissioner’s Office, the ICO.

Most of the calls were on behalf of firms touting PPI refunds and supposed traffic accident compensation claims.

Some gave the misleading impression that the messages were urgent and in connection to an existing claim.

The calls did not identify who was behind them and often it was not possible to be connected to a person.

The ICO received more than 1,000 complaints between April 2015 and June 2016.

Read more: Director vanishes after his cold-calling firm is fined £250,000

Here’s what some of the recipients of this junk said:

* “My father is terminally ill with cancer so I sometimes need to answer calls from unfamiliar numbers in case it relates to him.

“These calls disrupt my work, cause unnecessary anxiety and make me very angry – I never consented to my personal number being used in this way.”

* “I am harassed by an ex-partner through calls and text messages and so unsolicited calls cause me anxiety.”

* “I have received calls from this number every day this week on my work phone.

“I have just had surgery nine days ago and trying to get the phone caused pain just to find out it was that stupid telemarketing number again.”

Read more: Company behind 46 million nuisance PPI calls in seven months given record fine - but has already folded

So, how how does the director of Keurboom Communications feel about unwanted marketing calls, does he like getting them himself?

“I don't enjoy receiving them but that doesn't make them illegal,” said 51-year-old Mr Rudd when confronted by the Mirror outside his £750,000 Cambridge house.

“Annoying is one thing, illegal is another.

“It's part of life isn't it? We make and receive telephone calls.”

He moaned that the penalty should not have been imposed on his firm, but on its clients.

"I think the ICO have targeted the wrong company,” he insisted.

"My customers, they're the ones that should be targeted rather than my company.

"We are a telecom provider, so we provide dialling capacity.

"What people do with that is up to them - of course, the bulk of it is telemarketing calls.”

The fine on Keurboom beats the previous record penalty of £350,000 imposed on Brighton-based Prodial Ltd last October for 46 million automated nuisance calls.

Prodial went into liquidation before paying the fine, and Keurboom has done the same thing.

The Information Commissioner is calling on the post-election Government to implement plans aired last year to make directors personally liable for such fines.

(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

“Keurboom showed scant regard for the rules, causing upset and distress to people unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of one its 100 million calls,” said Steve Eckerlsey, Head of Enforcement at the ICO.

“The unprecedented scale of its campaign and Keurboom’s failure to co-operate with our investigation has resulted in the largest fine issued by the Information Commissioner for nuisance calls.

“We’re keen to see the Government offer stronger powers to hold the directors themselves responsible for the law-breaking.”