{
  "id": 6417404,
  "title": "FTSE boss calls on City businesses to hire former offenders",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/ftse-boss-calls-on-city-businesses-to-hire-former-offenders",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-09T11:05:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/ftse-boss-calls-on-city-businesses-to-hire-former-offender/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Adrian Cox, chief executive of Beazley, has urged city business leaders to consider hiring ex-offenders, citing the potential for these individuals to bring valuable talent and resilience to their organizations. The FTSE specialist insurer, which recently agreed to be acquired by Zurich Insurance for around £8.14 billion, believes in \"looking beyond convictions and recognising potential.\"\n\nCox hosted an event in collaboration with rehabilitation charity Key4Life, where former businessmen with prison experience shared their stories. Among them were Sushovan Hussain, former Autonomy chief financial officer, and Riordan Maynard, co-founder of Touchbase. Hussain was imprisoned for five years in the United States following a fraud conviction related to Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of Autonomy. Autonomy co-founder Mike Lynch was acquitted of all criminal fraud charges in June 2024, but he died in August after his superyacht capsized during a severe storm off the coast of Sicily.\n\nHussain, who has since founded Liberatus, a charity aiding prison leavers in finding employment, emphasized that companies can significantly benefit from tapping into the untapped talent pool within prisons. He stressed the importance of rehabilitation through employment, stating that giving prison leavers a chance to rebuild their lives through work can make a substantial difference.\n\nRecent statistics reveal a concerning trend: British prisons are experiencing crisis levels, with more than a third of all jobs now requiring Disclosure and Barring Service checks—official records of a person's criminal convictions, cautions, and relevant police information. This has led to a decrease in employers' willingness to hire ex-offenders compared to 2013.\n\nThe overcrowding crisis in UK prisons has prompted the government to implement emergency early-release schemes. However, recent reports indicate that those released under these schemes are returning to jail at an alarming rate. The reoffending rate in England and Wales is nearly 29 percent, with the figure doubling for those who remain unemployed after release.",
  "summary": "Beazley chief executive Adrian Cox has encouraged City business leaders to hire ex-offenders as he believes in “looking beyond convictions and recognising potential”. The boss of the FTSE specialist insurer, which agreed to be acquired by Zurich Insurance for approximately £8.14bn earlier this year, said: “City employers can transform lives while strengthening their organisations’ access [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}