The company at the centre of the NHS “body parts” scandal is planning legal action against the government – if it can stay afloat in the meantime.

Healthcare Environmental Services was stripped of 15 NHS contracts this month after the Environment Agency (EA) suspended permits at two sites because it had inadvertently stockpiled dozens of tons of hazardous waste and now faces a criminal investigation.

But its founder Garry Pettigrew insists that while it did fall foul of legal limits, it doesn’t deserve to miss out on the work. He t “They’ve terminated these contracts but not under one legal paragraph in a contract. Nothing that we’ve done has been illegal.”

The company says it may sue the Government if it can survive.