Carillion collapse regrettable, but government cannot bail it out - PM May's spokesman

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government cannot be expected to bail out construction and services firm Carillion, Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said on Monday, after the firm's collapse.

"It's regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders, but tax payers cannot be expected to bailout a private sector company. Since the profit warnings were first issued in July the government has been closely monitoring the situation ... we remained hopeful that a solution could be found while putting robust contingency plans in place, " he told reporters.

"Our primary responsibility as always (was) being able to keep our essential public services running safely."

(Reporting Elizabeth Piper, editing by William James)