The Oxford Mail's campaign for the Government to introduce a new law on corporate manslaughter is poised for success now Home Secretary Jack Straw is on the verge of publishing plans on the issue.

The paper began its campaign in the wake of the Paddington rail crash and revealed that a draft Bill had been drawn up by the Law Commission four years ago.

It also discovered that Mr Straw had set up an inter-departmental working party to look at the plans.

Now the Oxford Mail has learned that in the wake of the Ladbroke Grove tragedy and its campaign, Mr Straw is to publish Government plans to draw up a new offence of corporate manslaughter "within weeks". The report of the working party is due on his desk at the Home Office early next week, and he and his ministers are determined to fast-track a consultation paper on the issue into the public domain as soon as possible.

A senior Government source said: "We intend to publish the consultation paper within a matter of weeks."

Although there will be no space in this year's Queen's Speech on November 17 for a Bill on the issue, some in Government want to make certain that legislative time is found in the current year. News of the move came as Witney MP Shaun Woodward, Tory transport spokesman, put down a string of questions on the matter.

Promising to pursue the Oxford Mail's campaign until the Government acts, he tabled written Commons questions to Mr Straw.

Mr Woodward said the Oxford Mail had rightly judged the public mood and that the Law Commission's proposals must be examined, adding: "I do not intend to let this subject go." And he said a second report on Signals Being Passed At Danger published on September 2, raised serious alarms about this problem - the cause of the Paddington disaster. But there was no action until after the crash.

Mr Woodward said: "It seems tragic that it took a rail disaster to force sufficient attention to be paid to the issue, which had been flagged up 19 months before in the select committee report." *See features

Story date: Friday 22 October

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