1 July 2009 – Lord Gill delivers ICL inquiry report to Ministers

Lord Gill, Chairman of the independent joint public inquiry into the explosion at ICL Plastics which killed nine people in Glasgow in 2004, delivered his report to Yvette Cooper, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary for the Scottish Government, in Edinburgh today.

Yvette Cooper said:

"I am very grateful to Lord Gill for his thorough report.  The recommendations in the report are for an improved safety regime for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), that seeks to minimise the risk of such an incident recurring in the future.

 

"This was a human tragedy.  The report and its recommendations will now be considered to see what can be done to ensure better understanding and maintenance of LPG installations in places of work."

Kenny MacAskill said:

"The Scottish Government is very grateful to Lord Gill and the ICL Inquiry Team for this report.

"I would like to take the opportunity to thank him and his team for the way in which they handled this first joint Inquiry and for fulfilling the Terms of Reference so efficiently.

"I am glad to know that in their closing submissions to the Inquiry, bereaved and injured core participants made clear that the process enabled them to gain a clear insight into what caused the explosion and that they feel that the truth of what happened has been exposed.  It is very important that we all learn lessons from this tragic incident. 

"I know that officials from both the Scottish Government and the DWP are working to ensure that Ministers can publish it as soon as possible.  The likely publication is later this month."

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Notes to Editors:

1. The ICL Inquiry is also commonly referred to as the “Stockline Inquiry”.
2. The report was delivered to Ministers on 1 July 2009 at the Scottish Government in Edinburgh.
3. On 11 May 2004, nine people died and 33 were injured at the ICL Plastics factory in Glasgow. LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) vapour, which had escaped from an on-site underground corroded metal pipe into the basement of the factory, ignited, causing an explosion, which resulted in the collapse of the four storey Victorian building. 
4. The factory manufactured plastics products and coatings.  At the time of the explosion, sixty six people worked at the premises. 
5. In November 2006, the Crown took proceedings on indictment against ICL Plastics Limited under Sections 2 and 4 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and against ICL Technical Plastics Limited under Sections 2 and 3 of that Act.  On 17 August 2007 at Glasgow High Court, the companies pled guilty to the charges.  On 28 August 2007, the two companies were each fined £200,000.