It is the company, not the individual directors, which is on trial. However, the directors wound up the company before the trial began. They did this voluntarily, the company is not bankrupt. The prosecution barrister complained about Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) handing out leaflets about the case outside the court building. The leaflet makes certain comments about why the directors might have wound up the company before the trial. He said he feared it would "influence the jury" as they are meant to judge the case on the facts, not on outside comment. He also asked the judge to direct "members of the public", who were sitting at the back of the court in the public gallery, not to hand out any more leaflets. These "members of the public" included the dead worker's sister, and one of his colleagues who had been burned in the factory fire. To his credit, the judge refused, saying the people concerned had a right to express an opinion. But he did ask the jurors whether any of them had seen the leaflet before he swore them in.
To my mind, this was just as useful - or just as pointless - as making sure none of the jurors had read the Liverpool Echo in case it has any report on the trial!
The company directors have consistently refused to attend any court hearings, and they did not send a representative. But even if they had attended, it would not have done them much good. The prosecutor's opening statement shows that the evidence against the company is damning.
He described how the four workers had gone into the factory at 5.30 in the morning to start up the production lines. The control panel did not work when they tried the start up procedures. The control panel was supposed to show red warning lights when there was a fault in the system, but it did not show any lights at all and so the men could not work out where a fault might be. Normally, when there was a gas leak, even a minor one, an alarm would sound in the factory. There was no alarm that morning. But a little after six, there was a loud bang as leaking liquid petroleum gas ignited. It turned into a fireball which projected across the factory, destroying everything in its path. Three of the workers rolled under the conveyor belts and then ran for what exits they could see, shedding their burning clothes as they ran. Chris Knoop ran into a workshop next to the production area, but died when the fire engulfed the factory.
When the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the fire, they found that all but one of the red lights on the control panel had its cover and its lightbulb missing. The gas leak alarm was supposed to automatically shut down the production lines and could not be reset until the leak had been stopped. On the day of the accident, the HSE found that the power supply to the alarm had failed and the stand by batteries were flat. They found other evidence of poor maintenance and concluded that the accident was "foreseeable and preventable".
The company is also charged with failing to provide adequate safety clothing and boots for its employees, and failing to provide adequate training and supervision for them to be able to work safely.
The jury is due to give its verdict tomorrow afternoon.