Hatfield crash 'symptomatic of wider failings'

Balfour Beatty has claimed that the problems leading to the Hatfield crash were symptomatic of failings of the rail industry as a whole after being fined for safety breaches in the case.

The company was fined £10m last Friday for safety breaches that led to the rail accident, in which four people died, in the largest fine ever imposed on a UK construction firm. However, the firm has stressed that it did not breach the industry standards on safety that existed before the accident.

A spokesperson said: “Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services, in entering its plea of guilty, accepted inadequacies in its patrolling and inspection activities, for which it apologises. It is however clear that the accident arose as a result of a systemic failure of the industry as a whole. At no stage did BBRIS work outside the industry standards on patrolling and inspection as they were constituted before the accident.”

The spokesperson said that Balfour Beatty viewed safety as paramount in its operation, although would not be drawn on whether the company would review any of its safety operations in the wake of the judgment.

The spokesperson said: “The Balfour Beatty Group has a strong safety culture and tightly managed safety systems. The health and safety of the public and of its employees is paramount in everything that the company does. The company will be considering the judgment in detail.”