A RAIL MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE

THE full iniquity of the pounds 4million fine to be paid by taxpayers for the incompetence, some would claim the criminal incompetence, of the old Railtrack bosses should never be forgotten.

Before the Paddington disaster, the board, under the grotesquely hopeless choice of chief executive Gerald Corbett, spent much of its time working out a new share option scheme for itself. When the accident happened Railtrack's first reaction was to blame the young rookie driver who drove through the red signal.

A full three days after the crash Corbett himself was insisting Railtrack had done everything possible to sort Signal 109. This, we now know, was totally untrue. For five years drivers had been warning about the signal and several internal inquiries had been held. But not enough was done. Three days after the crash, if Corbett did not know this he is even more lethally incompetent than I thought he was.

Either way he can make a small and much belated gesture by handing over his pounds 1.4million payoff - received after he resigned following yet another fatal crash - to the fine kitty. Just so he doesn't rip us all off twice.

CRIMINALS hiding guns with friends will now face up to 10 years in jail. Currently gunmen can avoid legal action for carrying a weapon if they pass it to someone else. Related Results But from Friday a new law will mean the weapon's owner will be prosecuted.