Corby Borough Council should apologise wholeheartedly and immediately following High Court ruling
30th July 2009
The High Court this week ruled that Corby Borough Council’s negligence over reclaiming former steel works in the town resulted in birth defects in 16 children born in the 1980s and 1990s.
Commenting on the landmark ruling, Louise Bagshawe said:
“The severity of the judgement that has come down on Corby Borough Council from the High Court is very disturbing. A High Court judge has found that between 1983 and 1997 the council was "extensively negligent". It is truly appalling to think of Corby people being endangered in this way.
“As the local Conservative Parliamentary Candidate, I have to say I was surprised and disappointed at the reaction of Corby Borough Council and its spokesman to this ruling. Saying that the council will apologise only if direct causation for the deformities is proved is callous, and misses the point. The judge has already decided that severe negligence was present. That alone demands a full, and abject, apology.
“As a mum myself I was horrified to see pictures, and hear stories, of how these children and their parents have suffered. In such circumstances, an attitude of "maybe we'll apologise after a further ruling" is not good enough.
“And as a local politician, it is disturbing to see that the council had no insurance and is now possibly liable for a huge legal and compensation bill - affecting local taxpayers served by the Borough Council.
“Corby Borough Council should apologise wholeheartedly and immediately for the negligence that has already been ruled existed for over a decade and take steps to ensure that such an exposure to costs, without insurance, never happens again.
“Corby is a town on the rise - and the seeming stubbornness of the Council over apologising in the face of extraordinary suffering should not be allowed to get in the way of that regeneration.”
*UPDATE* Friday 31 July: To read coverage of this story in The Evening Telegraph, please | click here.
