David Cameron slams 'excessive' accident claims cultureRSS Feed
David Cameron has hit out at what he perceives to be an excessive health and safety culture in the UK.
In a debate held by the Independent newspaper, the Conservative Party leader said that a health and safety agenda is often inspired by the noble aim of keeping people safe "but it's clear that things have got a bit out of control recently".
He was responding to a question put by Independent reader Alice Renton of east Sussex, who suggested that the Health and Safety Executive overly interferes in people's lives.
In response to the same question, the prime minister Gordon Brown said regulation for its own sake must be avoided, but stressed: "It is very important to have health and safety laws that protect people at work, properly enforced by the Health and Safety Executive."
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg pointed out that life can never be risk-free and therefore we need to ensure the health and safety response is always proportionate to the situation.
The Penman and Sommerlad Investigate column in the Daily Mirror recently stated that Britain now has one of the best workplace safety records in the world.
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