Barney’s death: council fined £40k at Old Bailey
AFTER two and half years which have seen a police investigation, an inquiry by safety inspectors, a coroner’s inquest, and an appearance at Britain’s most famous criminal court, Camden Council has been ordered to pay a £40,000 fine over failings connected to the death of a scaffolder electrocuted on one of its estates.
The Town Hall was sentenced over a breach in health and safety legislation at the Old Bailey on Monday, admitting that it had failed to make proper checks on a defective lamp which was so faulty it had become a deathtrap.
Father-of-three Ralph Kennedy, 24 – better known by his boyhood nickname Barney – died almost instantly when he touched the lamp on the Mayford estate in Somers Town in September 2006.
The case was brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigated his death.
Judge
Richard Hone QC said deciding on the size of the fine was a “difficult task” but warned the technicalities of the breach had to be considered ahead of emotions.
The judge received victim statements from Mr Kennedy’s father – also called Ralph – and his girlfriend, Kelly Ivory, the mother of two of his children and with whom he shared a flat in Camden Town.
Judge Hone QC said: “The impact statements are very moderate. The father of the deceased acknowledges that what is important is that there is no repetition of the failings in this case.”
He added:
“No amount of money can possibly represent the value of life.”
Camden, which pleaded guilty to the breach, was ordered to pay £16,000 in legal costs in addition to the fine.
Housing department director Michael Scorer was in court to hear the penalty and his appearance and public apology was praised by the judge.
Camden has reviewed all of its light fittings in the wake of the case and spent more than £2million on inspections and improvements. But it is not the end of the case as Camden must still resolve compensation claims from Mr Kennedy’s loved ones.
The Old Bailey’s court number eight heard how the council did not have full records of work done to the lamp and could not say why the brown safety earth wire inside was cut.
Other lights in the series of external wall lamps – only reachable by ladders and scaffolding – were also found to be faulty.
Valerie Charbit, prosecuting, said:
“There was no evidence of five-year tests as recommended by British Standard and Wiring regulations.”
The earth wire, if intact, would normally remove the danger of electrocution by diverting the hazard to a fuse.
Inspections showed a clear cut rather than a worn out wire, but a coroner’s inquest failed to establish why or when it had been snipped.
“It has been said that it might have been done to stop the light flickering – that is the speculation,” said John Williams, defending the council.
Mr Williams said Camden had previously had a “good safety record” and had complied with all orders from the HSE.
Mr Scorer said afterwards: “We are extremely sorry for Mr Kennedy’s tragic death. We again offer our sincere condolence to his family for their loss.
“The council takes the issue of health and safety extremely seriously and accepts the £40,000 fine.”
He added: “Following the incident, we have worked very closely with the HSE to make the improvements recommended. In spring 2007, the council put in place a rigorous programme of electrical testing and inspection.”
Lawyer who won’t give up
ONE of Camden’s leading lawyers has investigated the Ralph Kennedy case and believes there is still unfinished business that the council needs to address.
Patrick Allen, one of the founders of Hodge, Jones and Allen, now based in Euston, represents Mr Kennedy’s partner Kelly Ivory.
While the council has admitted liability, the amount due in compensation is still being negotiated.
As revealed by the New Journal in November, those discussions took a new twist late last year when Mr Allen passed a new dossier of evidence to the council, police, a coroner and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
It contained a meticulous record compiled by a former works inspector who, while working for the council, repeatedly flagged up warnings about amateurish electrical repairs, allegedly carried out on council estates during the 1990s.
The patch included the Mayford estate where Mr Kennedy was electrocuted.
The former council employee, Edward Whelan, said his concerns were never properly addressed by his bosses, even when he warned that somebody could be killed. He also sent his file to the HSE but no action was taken.
Mr Allen believes all past investigations should be reopened and a second inquest should be held in the light of the emergence of the file, claiming the documents have not been properly considered and that the council’s historic lack of action exacerbated the failings in the case.
At the emergence of the file, Camden said it was reviewing the documents but it has not commented on the progress of negotiations.
