[IER] Corporate manslaughter and hiding data - no wonder this govt wants to be above the law

[Sarah Glenister]

                            News brief - 04/06/21                                                                           View this email in your browser
                        


                            Corporate manslaughter and hiding data - no wonder this govt wants to be above the law



        

                            A criminal lawyer has warned that the government could face charges of corporate manslaughter if the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) returned Covid-19 patients to care homes as a matter of policy.
Writing in the Guardian, Alex Bailin QC said Health Secretary Matt Hancock has "serious questions" to answer if Dominic Cummings' claims that he misled Downing Street on the testing of care home residents were true.
The mandatory testing of care home residents did not come in until mid-April 2020, but Cummings claims Hancock "categorically" told the Prime Minister's team that this would happen in March. A leading care home provider also stated that pleas for testing in March had been ignored by Hancock.
Alex Bailin QC said that "it is doubtful that a policy that effectively forced care homes to import Covid-infected patients into a highly vulnerable environment would be shielded from prosecution".
Elsewhere, government agency Public Health England (PHE) has been accused of hiding data on the spread of the Indian variant of Covid-19 on the behest of Boris Johnson.
A pre-action letter sent to the body warned that it is against the law for a supposedly independent department to cave to political pressure.
With so many claims of law-breaking behaviour, is it any surprise that the government is pushing ahead with plans to put itself above the law?
On announcing its legislative programme for the year, Johnson's administration vowed to put limits on the judicial review process, claiming that an independent review led by Lord Faulks QC had found the courts edging "away from a strictly supervisory jurisdiction" and interfering in political matters.
Lord Faulks denies he made any such argument and says his report found no justification for the weakening of judicial review.
In a letter to Justice Secretary, Robert Buckland, a cross-party group of MPs warned that the govermment's proposals "would make it much harder for people to put things right when mistakes are made or governments overstep their bounds. They would undermine the rule of law and the crucial principles of fairness and accountability".
                        
                                        
                                    

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         22nd June 2021 – 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm
FREE
 About this eventPeril and possibility for workers – exploring the worst and the best of automation transition.
Our speakers at this event will consider the past, the present and the future of automation and its interaction with the workplace and workers' rights.
Dr Leo Impett of the University of Durham will share his work identifying an ingrained bias towards worker exploitation within systems that rely on artifical intelligence.
Louisa Bull of Unite the Union will consider the impact on workers of historical advances in technology and how unions can ensure that an automation-led increase in economic productivity can be more fairly distributed among the population instead of simply lining the pockets of the rich.
Finally, General Secretary of the ACDU, James Farrar - who was a lead claimant in the case against Uber - will discuss the present-day fight against exploitative technology.
 SpeakersDr Leo Impett, University of Durham
Louise Bull, Unite the Union
James Farrar, General Secretary of the ACDUBook your placeEVENT: Trade Unions , unemployment and workers’ rights



         7th July 2021 – 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
FREE
About this eventCreating a cushion of unemployment is bad for the economy, bad for workers, and public health and wellbeingSpeakersMartin Cavanagh, Deputy President of PCS and President of PCS DWP groupMore speakers to be confirmedBook your placeIER and Covid-19Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease and the need to keep our staff, supporters and speakers safe, IER is holding all events online until further notice.IER staff will continue to work, but remotely from home. We will answer emails, produce publications and circulate our weekly News Briefs and other on-line information. However, phone calls to the office or mail sent by post will not receive immediate attention.We apologise for any inconvenience caused and wish you all best wishes during this difficult time.
                                                                                
                                                                                
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