Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill

I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point, but the fundamental point for me, having worked with the survivors and relatives of victims of a major disaster, is that those people feel very strongly that the directors of the company responsible for what happened to them have never been properly punished. Criminal law today, quite rightly, gives pride of place to the views, feelings and consequences for victims, but we are not achieving that if we fail to include individual liability in the Bill. It is important to place responsibility directly on directors to take safety much more seriously. The best companies have a safety strategy and a safety assessment is made in respect of every decision that the company makes. I have sat in on board and other company meetings and seen that happen. It is important to say that we want to see that culture adopted throughout every company in the country. They should be forced to do that; and they are likely to do so only if they are forced.