“Carelessness can change lives forever”

Unions in London will be marking the twentieth anniversary of a construction disaster with a campaign to reinstate safety legislation aimed at stopping a repeat of the accident that killed two people.

Unite’s Central and South London Construction Branch and the Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Council (BWTUC) will be marking the anniversary of the Battersea Crane Disaster of 2006 by campaigning for the Labour Government to reinstate the 2010 law which was repealed in 2013 as unnecessary ‘red tape’.

On 26th September 2006, at approximately 5:30pm on a Barratt Homes construction site on Thessaly Road just across the road from Battersea Power Station site, a tragic and avoidable crane collapse took place.

There was a catastrophic failure of the 165ft tower crane which took the innocent lives of crane operator Jonathan Cloke, who died at the controls, and local bus driver Michael Alexa, who was crushed whilst changing a wheel on his car in the street below.

Investigatory findings by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) later revealed that the collapse had been caused by metal fatigue across 24 slew ring bolts. Crucially, Falcon Crane Hire Ltd had failed to properly investigate a similar bolt shear on the exact same crane just nine weeks prior, exposing an inadequate and unacceptable system of fleet inspection and maintenance.

Liliana Alexa, mother of son Michael who was killed in the disaster, said, “The Labour Government must reinstate the 2010 law that requires careful inspection, maintenance and accountability for the operation of cranes so that no other families have to suffer pain like we have had to suffer.”

Following the disaster BWTUC, construction workers and Liliana led a campaign for a national crane register and inspection regime, and in February 2010 Parliament adopted, as law, the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 to give effect to the campaign’s demands.

On 6 April 2013, under the guise of slashing ‘bureaucratic red tape’ following the Löfstedt Review, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government systematically abolished the national register – putting workers and the public at greater risk. 

Unite construction workers and the BWTUC will join with Liliana Alexa at the memorial in Thessaly Road on 26 September 2026 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the disaster and to launch the campaign for the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 to be reinstated by the Labour Government. 

Spencer Barnshaw, Secretary of BWTUC said: “Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council had a front row seat to see how proper attention to health and safety at the huge redevelopment of Battersea Power Station site led to its successful completion without a single serious accident or fatality. This was due to the partnership approach between the developers and Unite that successfully placed a very high priority on health and safety.

How different it was just across the road at the tiny by comparison Barratt Homes construction site where a crane in a desperately poor state of repair crashed to the ground causing two deaths and needless pain and suffering for the families of those killed.

Spencer added that the campaign to reinstate the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010 was vital to “save families from pain like that suffered by Liliana.”

Liliana said: “Carelessness can change lives forever. One moment of negligence can leave a family carrying a lifetime of grief. I hope that by remembering my son, we also remember our responsibility to one another to act with care, compassion, and respect for human life. 

“This is why I and my family are supporting the campaign for the Labour Government to reinstate the 2010 law that requires careful inspection, maintenance and accountability for operating cranes so that no other families have to suffer pain like we have had to suffer.”

Kevin Williamson, Secretary of Unite Central and South London Construction Branch said: “We want to see the 2010 law on crane safety reinstated by the Labour Government.

“To promote health and safety on construction sites our branch is working with BWTUC to make a proper record of  how the wonderful health and safety record at the nearby Battersea Power Station site was achieved in practice. We will make that record accessible to union representatives and contractor’s managers so that it can be emulated. This can be dedicated to and serve in the memory of Liliana’s son Michael.

“We will step up our efforts to reinstate the crane regulations and also provide a proper record of the successful health and safety practices at Battersea Power Station site.”

Unite Live will be covering the memorial and highlighting more from the campaign as it develops over the coming months.

By Keith Hatch

Photo by the Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Council