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The boss of British Gas owner Centrica has said he is horrified that debt collectors have broken into vulnerable customers’ homes to fit energy meters.

The Times found debt agents working for British Gas expressed excitement at putting meters in the homes of people who had fallen behind on energy bills.

“This happened when people were acting on behalf of British Gas. There is nothing that can be said to excuse it,” Chris O’Shea told the BBC.

The firm has suspended installations.

The suspension follows an undercover investigation by the Times whose reporter went with agents working for Arvato Financial Solutions’ – a company used by British Gas to pursue debts – to the home of a single father with three children. 

After establishing the property was unoccupied, the reporter observed the agents work with a locksmith to force their way in and install a prepayment meter.

It reported that the locksmith said: “This is the exciting bit. I love this bit.”

Mr O’Shea told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “The contractor that we’ve employed, Arvato, has let us down but I am accountable for this.

“This happened when people were acting on behalf of British Gas. There is nothing that can be said to excuse it.”

Agents also fitted a prepayment meter by force at the home of a young mother with an infant baby, the newspaper said.

Others who experienced similar treatment, according to materials seen by The Times, include a mother whose daughter is disabled and a woman described as having mobility problems.

Centrica said the suspension – where it applied to the court for a warrant to install a pre-payment meter – would last “until at least after winter” and that protecting vulnerable people was its priority.

Business Secretary Grant Shapps said he was “horrified” by the findings.

“Switching customers – and particularly those who are vulnerable – to prepayment meters should only ever be a last resort and every other possible alternative should be exhausted,” he said.

“These findings suggest British Gas are doing anything but this.”

Energy firms are required to have exhausted all other options before installing a prepayment meter, and should not do so for those “in the most vulnerable situations”.

It comes amid the rising cost of living and as household bills soar in part due to mounting energy costs.

As many as half a million workers are striking across Britain on Wednesday, closing schools, canceling university lectures, and bringing most of the rail network to a standstill in what unions say is the biggest single day of walkouts in more than a decade.

Teachers, university staff, train drivers, and civil servants — including staff checking passports at airports — are striking in large numbers over pay and working conditions as living standards continue to plunge after years of below-inflation raises.

At the same time, the Trades Union Congress, which represents 48 unions, is holding over 75 rallies across the United Kingdom to protest a government bill that it argues is an “attack” on the right to strike. The bill would require basic service levels to be maintained in the fire, ambulance, and rail sectors in the event of walkouts.

The escalating strike action comes just weeks after the government tried to resolve pay disputes to bring an end to the worst wave of industrial unrest the country has seen in decades. Many public sector workers have been offered raises of 4% or 5% for the current financial year, with the annual rate of inflation running at 10.5%

Up to 300,000 teachers are expected to strike on Wednesday, marking the first of seven days of strike action through February and March by the National Education Union, the largest union in the sector. Strikes will affect around 23,400 schools, about 85%, in England and Wales, with many closed fully or partially.

Wednesday also marks the beginning of strikes by 70,000 members of the University and College Union (UCU), which will hit 150 UK universities on 18 days in February and March, affecting 2.5 million students.

Meanwhile, more than 100,000 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents civil servants, will strike over pay, pensions, and job security at 123 government departments and agencies. 

And only around 30% of train services are expected to run on Wednesday, according to Britain’s railway company Rail Delivery Group, which warned in a statement on its website that the disruption could drag on into the rest of the week because many trains won’t be in the right depots.

Damian Lillard scored 42 points for the second game in a row as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 122-112.

Lillard, who also had 10 assists and eight rebounds, now has 49 40-point career games.

He is tied with Shaquille O’Neal in 19th place on the list of players with the most 40-point games in NBA history. 

Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets who remain without the injured Kevin Durant.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 as the Celtics overwhelmed their Eastern Conference rivals 139-96 – scoring 46 points in the first quarter alone – to remain top of the table.

Kyrie Irving had 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists for the Nets, who have now lost their past 10 games against Boston.

The Philadelphia 76ers earned swift revenge for Monday’s surprising defeat by the Orlando Magic, beating the Florida side 105-94 in Wednesday’s rematch.

The Sixers had gone into Monday’s game on the back of seven straight wins but let a 21-point advantage slip as they lost 119-109.

But Joel Embiid scored 28 points while James Harden added 26, including six three-pointers, and also had nine rebounds and 10 assists.

The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 119-114 in overtime while there were also wins for Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, and Atlanta Hawks but the Detroit Pistons home game against the Washington Wizards was postponed with the Pistons stuck in Dallas because of an ice storm.

King Charles III will not feature on Australia’s new five dollar note, the country’s central bank has announced.

The new design will pay tribute to “the culture and history” of Indigenous Australians, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says.

A portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II appears on the current design of the five-dollar note.

The Queen’s death last year reignited debates about Australia’s future as a constitutional monarchy.

“This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian government, which supports this change,” the bank said in a statement.

“The Bank will consult with First Australians in designing the $5 banknote. The new banknote will take a number of years to be designed and printed. In the meantime, the current $5 banknote will continue to be issued. It will be able to be used even after the new banknote is issued,” it added.

The A$5 banknote is the only Australian banknote to carry the image of a British monarch. The late Queen appears on the country’s coins as well, although Australia is transitioning to using an effigy of King Charles III.

The RBA told the BBC it has not yet set a date for when it will reveal the new five-dollar note design.

The decision was welcomed by Aboriginal politicians and community leaders.

“This is a massive win for the grassroots, First Nations people who have been fighting to decolonize this country,” said Lidia Thorpe, a Greens senator and DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman.

First Nations people lived in Australia for at least 65,000 years before British colonization, according to recent estimates.

The King became the British monarch after his mother’s death in September.

As the British monarch, he is also the head of state of Australia, New Zealand, and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom. The role is largely ceremonial.

The British monarch’s portrait has appeared on at least one design in every series of Australian banknotes.

However, in September Australia said the image of the new monarch would not automatically replace the Queen on its five-dollar notes, and that she might be replaced by Australian figures.