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Theresa May has been branded a “total hypocrite” for accepting £50,000 from a firm accused of making money off Carillion’s failure.

Naya Capital Management UK, which made the generous donation to the Tories a week before the general election, is one of a string of hedge funds that bet on the company’s share price falling.

Their value fell more than two-thirds in July, with Naya reportedly making £7.6million.

Carillion plunged into insolvency six months later.

Jon Trickett, Labour Shadow Cabinet Office Minister, said: “Theresa May is a total hypocrite.

“Despite promising to crack down on irresponsible businesses her party is happy to accept cash from those who have pocketed millions of pounds from Carillion’s collapse.

“It shows that, yet again, the Conservatives’ interests lie with the privileged few, and not the thousands of Carillion employees that face losing their jobs.”

(Image: PA)

A register held by the Financial Conduct Authority states Naya held “short positions” in Carillion between 2015 and July 12, 2017 – two days after the construction giant issued its first profit warning.

Short-selling amounts to betting that a firm’s share price will fall.

The drop in Carillion’s shares happened within days at the start of July.

A Reuters report at the time claimed London firm Naya, founded in 2012 by former Goldman Sachs banker Masroor Siddiqui, made £7.6million.

It made its donation to the Conservative Party on June 1 – exactly a week before the election.

Labour said hedge funds or people linked to them gave almost a fifth of donations to the Tories between the 2015 and 2017 elections.

Hedge funds invest money on behalf of their members, which can also include pension funds and charities.

(Image: EPA)

Donors who give £50,000 or more to the Conservative Party have the opportunity to attend private dinners with Theresa May and senior ministers.

A Tory Party spokesman said: “All donations to the Conservative party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with the law.”

Our revelation came after Mrs May was yesterday accused of negligence at over the Carillion fiasco, in a heated class at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for private firms to be “shown the door” by the Government as he accused the PM of failing to act over warnings before the collapse of the construction giant.

And he picked out failures by Virgin, Stagecoach, Capita and Atos to deliver on promises to the state.

(Image: PA)

Pressing Mrs May on contracts handed to the firm despite three profit warnings last year, Mr Corbyn said: “This isn’t one isolated case of Government negligence and corporate failure, it’s a broken system.

“Under this Government, Virgin and Stagecoach can spectacularly mismanage the East Coast Main Line and be let off a £2billion payment.

“Capita and Atos can continue to wreck the lives through damaging disability assessments of many people with disabilities and win more Government-funded contracts.”

(Image: PA)

He went on: “These corporations need to be shown the door. We need our public services provided by public employees with a public service ethos and a strong public oversight.

“As the ruins of Carillion lie around her, will the Prime Minister act to end this costly racket of the relationship between Government and some of these companies?”

Mrs May accused Mr Corbyn of targeting the private sector and failing to recognise most UK employees worked in it, adding: “We’re [the government] a customer of Carillion, not the manager of Carillion.”

The PM also said she had ordered the fast-tracking of a probe into its collapse and the conduct of its current and former directors.

It came as the Insolvency Service said 90% of Carillion’s private customers have indicated they will provide funding to keep employees on until a solution is found.

(Image: Reuters)

It emerged the firm had just £29million in cash by the time it went bust, at a time when it was struggling under £900million of debt and a £587million pension deficit.

Carillion’s construction projects included HS2, Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick, near Birmingham and Royal Liverpool Hospital.

Naya Capital did not return requests for comment.