A common theme running through tragedies such as Horizon, Grenfell and Hillsborough is the nauseating confidence and casual indifference shown by those responsible. So from where does this confidence originate?
I believe it is a confidence emboldened by several factors:
1: Unequal access to the law – those with the deepest pockets win, and the threat of legal action and lack of whistleblower protection discourage reporting of unsafe practices.
2: weak oversight and regulation – with regulations primarily seen as a ‘burden to business’ rather than vital checks and balances to prevent profit from being put ahead of people.
3: compliant (with some notable exceptions) politicians – with many MPs originating from the corporate world there is little questioning and often a ready acceptance of the narrative peddled by corporations and state agencies.
4: lack of accountability – time and again justice is delayed or denied entirely, emboldening individuals and corporations to behave with impunity.
5: rewards – rather than facing justice, the corporate elite are rewarded through the honours system, or jobs in the cabinet office and a string of Non-Exec Directorships. This is the connected rewarding their own and giving two fingers to the victims.
These factors breed an arrogance among our corporate elite and state agencies, smugly confident that they will never be effectively held to account.
So how do we fix this?
Compensation for the victims is vital, but only alleviates the symptoms, not the cause. We need a fundamental rebalancing of power between state agencies, corporations and the public. Codes of Practice don’t cut it – they only impact those who would already comply.
A genuine Hillsborough Law setting into law a ‘duty of candour’ is needed, but that should just be the start. A complete culture change is needed in our political and regulatory systems. The current regulators (Ofgem, Ofwat, etc.) are failing in their duties to the public and are yet another revolving door for the corporate elite who turn poacher to gamekeeper and back.
We need a far greater diversity of experience in our Parliament, currently dominated by those drawn from big business or political careerists. Only through the provision of effective checks and balances and a genuine prospect of accountability will we see a change in corporate and state culture.
If we don’t make these fundamental changes, the suffering endured by the Hillsborough families, and the victims of Grenfell and Horizon will be repeated. Finally, as a warning to others, we need individuals held to account for their actions. Thoughts with all of those impacted by the miscarriages of justice, which are a stain on the UK’s political and legal system.
These themes are covered in greater depth in the blogs below.
Julian Vaughan
31st March 2024
Further reading
The Grenfell Tower fire: a crime caused by profit and deregulation https://www.fbu.org.uk/publications/grenfell-tower-fire-crime-caused-profit-and-deregulation
Hillsborough stadium disaster: lessons that must be learnt https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hillsborough-stadium-disaster-lessons-that-must-be-learnt
Windrush Lessons Learned Review by Wendy Williams https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-lessons-learned-review
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