Whilst the appellant company had generally displayed a responsible attitude to its employees and had removed asbestos from factory walls once discovered, it had taken a terrible risk and should not have relied upon the unqualified word of the previous owner as to whether asbestos was present. Accordingly a fine of #100,000 was entirely justified in the circumstances.
CA (Crim Div) (Henry LJ, Holland J, Hallett J)
22/06/1999