Labour MP Frank Doran is pushing for the Government to act swiftly to create an offence of corporate manslaughter and reckless killing.

The Oxford Mail launched a campaign yesterday, in the wake of the Paddington rail disaster, demanding action to allow companies to be held directly responsible for the safety of their workers and customers.

Now the Aberdeen MP - whose constituents included victims of the Piper Alpha tragedy - has written to Home Secretary Jack Straw urging him to bring in legislation in the next session of Parliament, beginning next month. He wants the Government either to put it into its own legislative programme, or to allow time for a Private Member's Bill to succeed.

The former Labour Energy spokesman began his campaign after the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988, in which 167 oil workers died in an explosion and fire on a North Sea rig.

He first took the issue up with Mr Straw after the 1997 election. In July he received a letter from Home Office Minister Paul Boateng, saying the Government was actively considering the 1995 Law Commission recommendations for a law on corporate killing. Mr Boateng told Mr Doran: "We have set up an interdepartmental working group of officials and lawyers to examine the Law Commission's report and the issues arising from it, to recommend to ministers how it should be taken forward.

"We expect to receive those recommendations within the next few months."

Mr Boateng said despite the "warm welcome" given to the report, the proposals raised "difficult and complex issues which require careful and detailed consideration".

Mr Doran said: "I think the Government should swiftly bring forward legislation. "I think there would be little opposition to such a move and I would like legislation as early as possible. I think there would be people willing to help.

"I would urge Mr Straw to move as quickly as possible to bring forward legislation. We have already seen after what happened at Zeebrugge that it is very difficult to bring forward a prosecution.

"We have had a problem with safety for some time. In the last 12 years there have been a string of disasters which suggest something needs to be done. "We are taking about Piper Alpha, Zeebrugge ferry disaster, the Clapham rail tragedy, the Marchioness Thames river cruiser disaster, the King's Cross underground fire, the Southall rail disaster and now the Paddington crash. That is a pretty alarming list.

"We need to do something to improve the safety culture in Britain and the way to do it is to introduce a new offence of corporate manslaughter and reckless killing, and we need to do it as soon as possible." *See features

Story date: Friday 15 October

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