King says he was a 'lame duck' as chief "I had little influence due to Stewart wanting to seize power": Wal King. Former Leighton Holdings chief Wal King said he had become ostracised within the construction firm to the point of being "somewhat of a lame duck" chief executive when the company is alleged to have paid a $42 million bribe to win a major project in Iraq. Speaking for the first time since Fairfax Media revealed allegations that he approved the bribing of Iraqi officials, Mr King challenged his successor as CEO, David Stewart, on why, having claimed to have been told of the bribe, he never alerted the Leighton board. "In my whole period at Leighton I absolutely and completely refused to be involved in anything tainted by corruption," Mr King said, adding that he had tried to avoid working in countries where bribery and corruption were rife. King's CEO successor: David Stewart. According to a handwritten note dated November 2010 and obtained by Fairfax Media, Mr Stewart, who was acting CEO, recorded being told by Leighton executive David Savage that Mr King had approved the doubling of a fee with a subcontractor so as to hide a kickback to Iraqi officials. Asked about the note, Mr King responded by querying why, if it was an accurate account of the conversation, did Mr Stewart fail to raise it with him personally. Just one week after the note was written, Mr Stewart and Mr King worked side-by-side in the Middle East, he said. If he had raised it, there would have been alarm bells everywhere. If he had told me, I would have gone straight to the board," Mr King said. He said that at the time, there were "warring factions" inside Leighton. Once Mr Stewart had been selected to succeed Mr King as chief executive in August 2010, Mr King had become ostracised within the company he had run for 23 years. "I had little influence due to Stewart wanting to seize power and myself wanting to step backwards," he said. I was somewhat of a lame duck. In addition to the Iraq bribe allegation, there are allegations the company attempted to bribe Malaysian officials for a dam project, that the company covered up a whistleblower's allegations of internal fraud in a ship-building project and that a group of senior executives set up a firm to compete with Leighton using the company's own resources. It has also emerged that the construction company had paid for gardening and handymen services at Mr King's harbourside home in Woolwich. It is understood questions were raised inside Leighton as to the appropriateness of some items purchased on Mr King's corporate credit card, including alcohol from a bottleshop near Woolwich. Mr King also confirmed he used the services of Bankstown Helicopters to fly into and out of construction sites, and that the pilot for those visits was his son Alex King, who was an employee senior helicopter instructor. Mr King said he had personally paid more than $150,000 so his son could obtain a helicopter licence and that Leighton used his son's services only once he was fully qualified to a senior level. Regarding the company's payment of gardening and handymen services at his home, Mr King said this was part of his salary package and that other senior Leighton executives also received home gardening services.