CBI warns against new corporate killing law

Proposals for a new offence of corporate killing could leave companies defenceless because there are no clear tests of whether a firm is to blame, claim the Confederation of British Industry.

The warning comes as a response to the government plan to reform manslaughter legislation. The CBI argues that the proposals are unfair because firms could be convicted when they have no reasonable way of anticipating or reducing the risk. This would mean that a company could not cite the same defences available to an individual accused of a comparable crime.

The CBI would like any new offence to apply to behaviour that wilfully or recklessly disregards forseeable risks to employees or the general public. The CBI also believes that the new offence should apply to state organisations, which are exempt under the current proposals.
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