A man in charge of a fireworks display held on the night of a motorway crash in which seven people died has been cleared of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Geoffrey Counsell denied a charge under Section 3 of the Act of failing to ensure public safety during a Taunton Rugby Club display.
On 10 December 2013 at Bristol Crown Court, Judge Simon directed the jury to find him not guilty. Speaking outside court, Counsell said he believed the decision to prosecute was “motivated by a desire to find someone to blame for this terrible accident, simply for the sake of doing so”.
The crash involved about 30 cars when they were engulfed in thick fog on the M5 on 4 November 2011. Counsell had originally been accused of seven counts of manslaughter but the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges earlier in 2013.
Referring to the health and safety charge, Mr Justice Simon ruled that Counsell had “no case to answer” after an application from the defendant’s barrister at the halfway point in the trial. He said the prosecution’s case was based on “hindsight” and there was not sufficient evidence to show that Counsell ought to have foreseen that smoke could have drifted and mixed with fog to create thick smog.
“I have therefore concluded that the evidence is such that the jury cannot continue in these circumstances and it is my duty to stop the trial and order an acquittal,” he added.
Source: IIRSM