Record fine issued for unsafe working

British Telecom have been issued a fine for putting the public at risk during streetworks in the City of London. They have been issued a fine for £90,000 after pleading guilty, the highest fine ever prosecuted by TFL in relation to a streetworks offence.

During works in Bishopsgate in August 2017, BT failed to properly sign and guard works and were found to be using the wrong traffic management methods.

TFL Director of network management Glynn Barton said 'The safety of the public and workers should be top priority when undertaking roadworks. It is absolutely vital that companies such as BT ensure safety on site and we will always push for the strongest possible action against those that put the public at risk'.

The District Judge said 'It took over a day for BT to rectify these faults despite the works taking place in a busy part of the City of London with substantial impact on traffic. The response was unacceptably slow in my view and I hope that is reflected in my sentence'.