Rail fine "not severe enough", says family

Two companies responsible for the death of rail worker Michael Mungovan were fined £325,000 this month after admitting to breaches of health and safety law.

Mungovan was struck by a train while working on the track without qualified supervision near Vauxhall station in south London in October 2000. A coroner's inquest in 2002 returned a verdict of "unlawful killing".

The HSE prosecuted McGinley Recruitment Services Ltd and Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services Ltd, which pleaded guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act in June this year.

Outside the court, Mungovan's father Danny said: "I don't suppose any verdict would make me happy, but it didn't sound as severe as I expected. Balfour Beatty made, in the first six months of this year, £62 million profit."

Mick Holder from the London Hazards Centre agreed: "This should have been a manslaughter trial. If someone is found negligent, that someone could be given a prison sentence."