Acquittals of Companies, company directors, business owners and senior managers in 2005 and 2006

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Cumbria Legionnaires' Deaths

Gillian Beckingham, a town hall architect and Head of Barrow Borough Council's Design Services Group at the time of the deaths was accused of the manslaughter of seven people who died in a Legionnaires' Disease outbreak linked to Barrow Borough Council leisure centre in Summer 2002.

Mrs Beckingham, 48, was accused of being criminally negligent after the deadly bug killed seven and infected 172 others at the Forum 28 Art Centre in July and August 2002.

Beckingham denied the manslaughter of Richard Macauley, 88, Wendy Milburn, 56, Georgina Somerville, 54, Harriet Low, 74, Elizabeth Dixon, 80, June Miles, 56, and Christine Merewood, 55, all from Barrow. She also denies breaching health and safety laws.

The trial at Preston Crown Court is expected to last six weeks. At the trial Kevin Borthwick Forum 28’s technical manager was accused of passing on the blame for the Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak and was accused of lying about the role played by Mrs Beckingham in cancelling vital testing that could have prevented the outbreak.

At an earlier trial, Barrow Borough Council, which owns Forum 28 and employed Beckingham, was cleared of corporate manslaughter but pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Mrs Beckingham was cleared on the seven counts of manslaughter on 2 August. However, by a majority of 11 to one, the jury convicted Beckingham of one charge of breaching health and safety law for which she was fined £15,000.

The council, which pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence last year, was fined £125,000 and ordered to pay £90,000 court costs.

When passing sentence, Judge Stanley Burnton QC said that in his judgement Beckingham's failures had been serious and, but for the context in which they occurred with the lack of support received from, and the general ethos of disregard by, the council, the general outcome may have been different.

He added that, had Beckingham been a lady of great wealth, then he would have imposed a much greater penalty as her failures led to multiple deaths and a lot of serious suffering.

Judge Burnton also said that an admission of guilt on behalf of Beckingham would have worked in her favour, 'You were not able to admit those failings that were clearly established by the evidence.'

When sentencing the council, Judge Burnton told the court that the outbreak of the disease was 'a tragedy that should never have happened'.

He added that there had been many opportunities for the council to take steps to prevent the outbreak and that failings had not only been at the lowest level of the council, but all the way to the top in terms of its serving officers.

On 31 October 2006 it was announced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that Colin Pickthall was to chair a hearing on the disease outbreak

Mr Pickthall conducted two public meetings on 4 and 11 December 2006 .

'I am pleased to be asked to do this,' said Colin. 'I hope the hearing can help the people of Barrow gain a thorough understanding of the tragedy that struck the town in 2002. I am glad that Tom Campbell, the Chief Executive of Barrow Borough Council has agreed to join me at the meetings, along with representatives from several of the organisations who dealt with and then investigated the outbreak, to answer people's questions and to hear their concerns.'

'The purpose of the hearing,' continued Colin, 'is to provide an opportunity for members of the public, especially the families of those who died, the people who suffered illness and the wider community of Barrow, to learn about the circumstances and the causes of the outbreak.'

'They will have the opportunity to ask questions in an independently chaired public forum, and to help identify lessons of value both for Barrow and more widely.'

'The meeting on 4 December will examine the circumstances, the causes of and responses to the outbreak. The following week we will discuss and identify lessons to prevent further comparable tragedies, both in Barrow and elsewhere.'

The hearing was organised by the HSE at the request of John Hutton, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and MP for Barrow & Furness.

In March 2007 it was announced that the inquest into the deaths would be held at Barrow Magistrates' Court before South Cumbria Coroner Ian Smith in June 2007. There will be no jury and 13 witnesses will be called in the week from 4 June.

The report by the HSE into the Barrow Legionella outbreak published in April 2003 set out the steps that organisations need to take to avoid such outbreaks in the future, and what HSE intended to do to secure proper standards of control.

Colin Pickthall said, 'Like most accidents, this tragedy could have been avoided if the risks had been properly managed. This report follows two public meetings, held to explain to the people of Barrow and others what happened that summer. It describes the subsequent investigation, and highlights the lessons and recommendations to others to help prevent a comparable tragedy.'

Heath and Safety Executive Regional Director David Ashton said, 'Barrow has shown again how deadly legionella can be, but also that well-understood precautions will control the risk. This report explains both the technical steps, and the essentials of good health and safety management that can make sure a similar tragedy never happens again.'

In May 2007 Mrs Beckingham took early retirement on medical grounds last week. The council said in a statement, 'Following her application for retirement on medical grounds and assessment by the Cumbria Pension Fund, Gill Beckingham left the council’s employment on Monday, May 21.'

At an inquest into the deaths in June 2007, Furness Coroner Ian Smith recorded a narrative verdict, saying five victims had died as a direct result of contracting Legionnaire's disease. One other person died from natural causes, contributed to by the disease, and another from natural causes, the treatment of which was compromised in part by Legionnaire's disease.

He said the law prevented him from giving a verdict of unlawful killing, which the families of the deceased had requested.

He said he believed that the council should apologise personally to the families for their suffering.

In October 2007 Kathryn Gilbertson, solicitor with Greenwoods Solicitor and who legally represented the architect, told the CIEH Best of the Best Conference. Gillian Beckingham, senior architect with Barrow-in-Furness Council, should not have faced manslaughter charges.

Ms Gilbertson said that Ms Beckingham had only had an indirect relationship with the Forum 28 leisure centre, whose defective air conditioning unit caused the outbreak. ‘She did not have managerial control over the centre and played no part in decision-making procedures… The police were determined to find someone guilty of manslaughter and that person was Gill.’

Ms Gilbertson said the problems with the air conditioning unit that had caused the outbreak had followed the signing of a maintenance contract with a new contractor, Interserve.

Neither the council’s environmental health department nor its part-time safety officer, she claimed, had applied the Health and Safety Executive’s approved code of practice L8, on Legionnaire’s disease.

In addition, she alleged that supervision, monitoring and control measures for health and safety had been inadequate.

She said Ms Beckingham, who had been forced to fight her cases on legal aid, now faced disciplinary procedure from the Royal Institute of British Architects. She had been ‘broken’ by her experience.

She commented, ‘Gill was doing her job to the best of her ability. If you were in her situation, you would expect your employer or your trade union, which was Unison, to support you and to pay for your defence. But they didn’t.’

Ms Gilbertson said that a huge amount of public money had been spent on the case and that the people of Barrow had the right to know who was truly responsible.

She warned that senior figures from Barrow-in-Furness Council would almost certainly have faced charges for manslaughter, if the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act had been in force at the time of 2002 Legionnaire’s disease outbreak.

Dearh of Mark Chadbourne and Anthony Best

In December 2005, the two owners of a haluage company, R&B Drivers, were acquitted of the manslaughter of Mark Chadbourne and Anthony Best after a judge ordered the jury to return a 'not-guilty' verdict. Winchester Crown Court was told that R&B Drivers supplied agency drivers for major companies across the country. But Knapman, 46, and Legg, 53, put pressure on Mr Chadbourne and others to work beyond their legal hours of driving to make money for the firm. The fatal accident happened on the A303 near West Knoyle when Mr Chadbourne's lorry crossed the road into the path of the other vehicle driven by Mr Best, from Bristol, who worked for another company. The prosecution claimed that the crash was caused by Mr Chadbourne falling asleep, but Judge Michael Broderick said that a heart attack could not be ruled out which led him to order the jury to acquit the defendants of the manslaughter charge.

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Deaths in Hatfield Rail Crash

In October 2005 at the Old Bailey Mr Justice Mackay ordered all remaining manslaughter charges to be dropped in relation to the Hatfield train crash. The accident in Hatfield, on 17 October 2000, happened when the London to Leeds express came off the tracks at 115 mph. It was derailed by a cracked section of rail leaving four dead and more than 100 injured.

The judge described the case as one of the worst examples of sustained industrial negligence he had ever seen. He said 750,000 passengers' lives had been put at risk due to the broken rail.

The faulty rail was spotted 21 months earlier but left unrepaired even though a replacement rail had been delivered and left alongside it for six months.

Balfour Beatty, responsible for track maintenance at the time, was fined £10 million and Network Rail was fined £3.5 million for breaking safety rules before the crash. The fines are an English record.The companies were also ordered to contribute £300,000 each to the estimated £8.5 million prosecution costs following the trial at the Old Bailey in London.

In July 2006 Balfour Beatty had their £10 million fine reduced to £7.5 million by the Court of Appeal after defence lawyers argued it was excessive.

Three judges headed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, ruled that the disparity between Balfour Beatty's and Network Rail's fines was so great that a reduction was applicable.

'We consider there is scope for a reduction in the interests of proportionality which will still do justice to the applicable (legal) principles and, in particular, to the victims of the Hatfield disaster,' said Lord Phillips.

Jonathan Caplan QC, for Balfour Beatty, had argued that the firm should have had the fine reduced because it pleaded guilty.

Lindsay Arthur, who lost her husband in the crash, said she felt the judgment added insult to injury. ' I cannot believe that this case was even considered by the Appeal Court, let alone for it to be successful,' said Mrs Arthur. 'All we ever wanted from the trial was that lessons were learned so that another family would not have to go through what we have been through.'

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said even the original fine of ten million pounds would come nowhere near to making up for the heartache and distress Balfour Beatty caused. 'It is an absolute scandal that once again the courts have given sympathetic treatment to negligent bosses who today will be laughing up their sleeves,' said Mr Crow

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Death of Andrew Mills and six others in January 2005 ('Solway Harvester')

In July 2005, the judge, acting Deemster Andrew Moran QC, ordered the jury to return a verdict of not guilty in relation to the charges against Jack Robinson (Trawlers) Ltd and its Managing Director, Richard Gidney (38) who had been charged with the manslaughter of seven people who died when their fishing vessel, the Solway Harvester, sank in a storm in the Irish sea in January 2000. The people who died were: the Skipper, Andrew Mills (29), his brother Robin Mills (33), his cousin, David Mills (18), John Murphy (22), Martin Milligan (26), David Lyons (17) and Wesley Jolly (17). Over the last fifteen years four vessels owned by the Company have sunk with the loss of 15 lives. The case was heard in the High Bailiffs court in the Isle of Man.

The inquest was due to start on 20 November 2006 but on 7 November the Coroner Michael Moyle said the inquiry had been delayed because of technical difficulties involving the attendance of a key witness and it might be a few more months before the inquest was held.

On 21 November 2006 Mr Moyle adjourned the inquest, criticising the refusal of Richard Gidney to attend. The five-day inquest was postponed for 14 days to give Mr Gidney one final chance to reconsider his position.
Last year Mr Gidney's manslaughter trial collapsed when the court found he had no case to answer.

Mr Moyle told the Isle of Man Courts of Justice that he could not say with 'absolute certainty' he had been misled, but he wished to make known his 'concern and displeasure' at the way in which Mr Gidney's attendance had been dealt with. He said that after numerous emails and letters to Mr Gidney's solicitors, the vessel owner finally agreed in July to attend the hearing.

Mr Gidney indicated it was 'unlikely' that he would go to the Isle of Man. When asked whether he would give any evidence by video link, Gidney said he had received legal advice that he could not because it could 'prejudice a civil claim'.

Mr Moyle drew attention to the way Mr Gidney had been willing to talk to the press in which he said his thoughts were with the families of the crewmen.

Mr Moyle said of the men's families, 'In their view it might be difficult for Mr Gidney to avoid being labelled, not only a hypocrite, but a coward.'

Mr Gidney commented , 'In many ways I regret we have not been able to present our case and I feel it would have exonerated Craig Mills and his crew for any blame for this tragedy.'

On 22 December Mr Moyle confirmed Mr Gidney had not responded to demands for him to attend the inquest.

When the inquest resumed in January 2007 Coroner Michael Moyle raised concern about the lack of safety regulations in place seven years ago when the vessel sank 11 miles off the Island's coast.

Recommendations in a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report into the tragedy have been adopted, but Mr Moyle said that would be scant comfort to the families of those who died.

Adjourning the proceedings to a date to be fixed Mr Moyle said it wasn't too late for Mr Gidney to give evidence.

It was reported that efforts were underway to compel Mr Gidney to give his evidence under oath in Scotland.

In January 2008 it was reported that the Manx authorities had instructed Scottish lawyers to ask the High Court if Mr Gidney could be forced to give evidence either in person, or by other means.

Manx Coroner Michael Moyle confirmed on 22 February 2008 that a formal request for assistance had now been granted at the Court of Session.

In March 2008 representatives from the Scottish Sheriff's Office in Edinburgh boarded the wreck, which remains in Douglas harbour.

On 30 April it was announced that Sheriff Principal Lockhart, the Sheriff Principal of South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway, had set the initial date for the commencement of the proceedings.

Procedural issues were dealt with on June 9 2008. Mr Gidney faced questioning when the hearing opened on 23 June at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court.

In November 2008 the Coroner recorded a verdict of 'Accidental Death' in respect of the seven crewmen.

Mr Moyle said of Mr Gidney, 'I regret to say that certain parts of Mr Gidney's evidence I found to be unsatisfactory or inadequate. It appears to me throughout that his first and real concern was his own self-interest, trying to protect himself from what he might perceive as suggestions of failings.'

The inquest heard that the vessel had experienced three flooding incidents in eight years and that while Mr Gidney had installed a bilge alarm in the fish room of the Solway Harvester, it was not working when the boat began its final trip. As a result, the boat's skipper was not alerted that water was rising in the fish room during the stormy weather.

Mr Moyle drew attention to other equipment shortcomings on the boat, including the fact that the lifeboats on board had not been serviced 'for a considerable time'.

He said, 'Mr Gidney had concluded his evidence by endeavouring to dispel any suggestion that the Solway Harvester was not properly maintained or properly equipped. Many others, myself included, might not necessarily share such a view.

'I do not have any comparisons to draw upon. However, I would suspect that, by any standards, three serious flooding incidents in the short life - eight years - of this vessel might be regarded as somewhat excessive.'

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Death of Peter Coldspring

Peter was electrocuted in a flat 443 Purley Way, Croydon. He worked for Peter A. Bell, a painting and decorating contractor.

Robert Austin Dickinson, director of Installation and Refurbishment Solutions Ltd (IRS Ltd) and in charge of the site where the incident occurred, was charged with manslaughter following an investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mr Dickinson pleaded not guilty to both the manslaughter and health and safety charges. The case was heard at the Old Bailey. The judge gave a verdict of not guilty on the manslaughter charge, Dickinson pleaded guilty to the health and safety at work charges and was fined £10,000.

Also in 2005 Installation and Refurbishment Solutions Ltd were fined £30,000 for breaches of Health and Safety legislation in that they failed to ensure a system of work and that the electricity supply to the flat undergoing refurbishment was isolated. Peter A. Bell was fined £1,000 for the same failure.

In May 2007 in the House of Commons debate on the Corporate Manslaughter Bill, MPs raised the case as an example of inadequate penalties for breaches of legislation leading to a death.

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Death of Lewis Murphy

Garage Manager, Glen Hawkins was acquitted of the manslaughter of 18 year old Lewis Murphy after the court of appeal ruled in June 2005 that a statement which had formed the core of the prosecution's case should not have been admitted as evidence in the trial that had resulted in his conviction four months earlier. Lewis Murphy had been engulfed in flames when he was helped by Mr Hakins to pour a mix of petrol and diesel into a waste oil tank. Fumes were sucked into a boiler flue, sparking a massive fireball at the Anchor Garage, Peacehaven on 18 February 2004

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