News In Focus
5 December 2006
Corporate killing bill through the Commons
The Corporate Manslaughter and Culpable Homicide Bill is heading for the House of Lords after being given an unopposed third reading in the Commons yesterday.
The bill, which amends the law for both Scotland and England after the Scottish Executive was advised that it concerned reserved matters, was carried over from the parliamentary session that ended last month.
It proposes to penalise a company where death results from a "gross breach of a relevant duty of care", due to the way in which the company's activities are managed or organised, but will not lead to prosecutions of individual directors or managers.
The bill is supported by all parties but the government had to face down a challenge from two backbench Labour MPs who wanted it extended to cover deaths in custody. The amendment has the support of the Shadow Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, who predicted that the Lords were likely to push it through.