Roofing boss admits manslaughter

Union action has led the owner of a roofing firm to admit manslaughter in the case of Daniel Dennis, a 17-year-old worker who fell through a skylight.

The Crown Prosecution Service had originally decided not to prosecute, but the GMB general union forced a judicial review — and on the eve of his trial last month, boss Roy Clark pleaded guilty to the charge.

Acknowledging that he had owed a duty of care, Clark accepted that he had failed to ensure that the skylights were fenced off, or to instruct Dennis’s colleagues not to let him onto the roof unsupervised.