Volkswagen Group could be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter rigged diesel emission tests, the transport minister has admitted at a Committee hearing.
Transport minister Robert Goodwill told the Environmental Audit Committee that a corporate manslaughter charge may be considered if legal advice suggests it could be successful.
When asked if a corporate manslaughter prosecution was an option he said: “That’s probably something that’s above my pay grade to decide – whether a prosecution of that type might be successful. But certainly if it could be proven that a case like that could be brought then certainly that could be open.”
It would be for law enforcement authorities, rather than the Government, to bring forward a corporate manslaughter case against the company, according to a report in the Independent.
It is not clear how many deaths could be linked to increased emissions as a direct result of the scandal. Estimates from Martin Williams at Kings College London have suggested around 5,800 premature deaths in the UK can be linked to diesel emissions from vehicles.
Goodwill said other avenues for legal action against Volkswagen could include a prosecution based on misleading testing authorities, or an investigation through the Competitions and Markets Authority.
What Next - 29/10/2015 12:18
If this is the case ( which it obviously is not !!! Martin Williams is just looking to be interviewed on TV to get his namby pampy point across which nobody is interested in ) So if VW do get a corporate manslaughter prosecution. This would mean Vauxhall would be in court for Attempted Murder and Arson with the Zafaria , BUSES companies would be in court for saying its greener to take a bus ... the world seems to go into meltdown when real life issues get missed out like our countries name Great Britain not Lame Britain