Still no answers seven years on

Safety campaigners and the families of four men killed as they were preparing the boiler house at Didcot power station for demolition in February 2016 have questioned whether the way work-related death investigations are conducted is fit for purpose.

The boiler house collapse buried four experienced demolition workers, Mick Collings, Chris Huxtable, Ken Cresswell and John Shaw, under tonnes of rubble. But, despite seven years of investigation by the police, the HSE and the CPS crown prosecution service, the FACK families against corporate killers campaign says still “no conclusion has been reached” and “no time frame for any conclusion given”.

FACK facilitator Hilda Palmer said that in other investigation jurisdictions, summaries of what happened are released as soon after the death as possible. She said the families need answers to their questions, lessons need to be learnt to ensure the safety of workers involved in the future demolition of hundreds of other old power stations in the UK and across the world, and anyone bearing responsibility needs to be held to account.

“The longer this goes on the harder it is for the families, other demolition workers are exposed to risk and the sense that real justice will be delivered diminishes,” she added.