We cannot afford a second `Marchioness'

THE ANNOUNCEMENT of a new investigation of the Marchioness disaster might seem little more than a no-lose exercise in gesture politics by a Deputy Prime Minister whose image is in some need of sprucing up. After 10 years, one inquest, two trials and an official Marine Accident Investigation report, it is unlikely that the review, to be conducted by a senior judge, will cast dramatic new light on the tragedy or give definitive answers to questions which still haunt the relatives of the 51 people who died. None the less, John Prescott's decision is to be warmly welcomed.

Not only does it meet a long-standing demand of the bereaved, but pleasure traffic on the Thames will become busier than ever as the river becomes a centrepiece for the Millennium festivities barely four months away, and the public must be certain that regulations have been tightened since 1989. The Marchioness, remember, sank in less than two minutes after being struck by the dredger Bowbelle close to Southwark Bridge in central London; do rescue services have the resources to respond quickly enough to a similar future emergency? Disturbingly, there is still no single co-ordinating body for search and rescue on the Thames. These issues must be answered by the inquiry, before dozens more Marchionesses, with thousands of revellers aboard, prepare to set sail on 31 December.

Finally, there could be no better moment for the Government to decide whether to bring in legislation covering corporate manslaughter. The 1995 inquest found the Marchioness victims had been "unlawfully killed". But by whom? Two years ago the Government said it was considering a law that would make company directors answerable for avoidable safety failures. It has had long enough to make up its mind.