Day 127 - 23 May 95 - Page 33
1 COMPANY WILL NOT GO TO PRISON FOR YOU'. The financial
2 standing of the situation will not be considered where
3 electrical safety is concerned. Your M & R Account is no
4 protection."
5
6 What is the M & R Account?
7 A. That is the Maintenance and Repair Account.
8
9 Q. That statement "the financial standing of the situation
10 will not be considered where electrical safety is
11 concerned", I am not asking you what it means, but
12 I suppose it means that it does not matter how much it
13 costs, you have to do it right?
14 A. I read it that that is what Keith is saying.
15
16 Q. That is a matter for his Lordship. But, if it does mean
17 that, is that attitude confined simply to electrical safety
18 in McDonald's?
19 A. Well, it is any risk that has a potential of being
20 fatal or is considered high risk in terms of injury. Part
21 of what the law requires is to do everything that is
22 reasonably practicable, and that is matter of balancing up
23 the risk versus the cost of addressing that risk.
24 Obviously, something like electrical safety, we feel that
25 the costs outweigh -- balance up, so it is worthwhile
26 putting the investment into it.
27
28 Q. Then it goes on, Keith Smith -- perhaps in explanation of
29 this, I do not know:
30
31 "Electricity kills over 30,000 plus employees. The odds of
32 fatal accident are high. Please do not let one of your
33 people be the first."
34
35 That must have gone, must it not, Mrs. Barnes, to the
36 manager of the restaurant in Manchester where Mark Hopkins
37 was electrocuted?
38 A. Yes, it would have gone to Judith Chapman.
39
40 Q. What would a manager be expected to do with a memo like
41 this?
42 A. I would expect them, certainly, to discuss it at their
43 managers' meeting; and although Keith does not mention it
44 to the crew at the next crew meeting, certainly, going back
45 to my days when I was a restaurant manager, anything as
46 important as this, I would most likely have done that.
47 I know it is easy to say with hindsight, but it is a very
48 important memo.
49
50 Q. Tell us in just a very few sentences your understanding
51 (because you were not there) of how it was that
52 Mark Hopkins -- I should ask you this. No doubt, you heard
53 about the accident when it happened?
54 A. Yes. I was contacted straightaway by 'phone.
55
56 Q. Did you carry out an inquiry of your own?
57 A. Yes, I did.
58
59 Q. And, as we will see in a moment, you produced a draft
60 report ---
