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No plans to close M1 bus crash 'loophole', says government

News imageBBC Scene after M1 crashBBC
Two lorries and a minibus were involved in the crash on the M1 last August

The government says there are no plans to look into the alleged "loophole" where employers are not automatically told of drivers losing their licences.

In August eight people were killed in a minibus crash on the M1 caused by two lorry drivers - one of whom had lost his HGV licence 37 days earlier.

A road charity said the crash "laid bare the loophole" and the minibus driver's MP asked for tighter measures.

The government said the duty was on the employers make regular checks.

Seven Indian tourists and Nottingham-based minibus driver Cyriac Joseph were killed in the crash on the M1 near Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.

News imageFacebook Cyriac JosephFacebook
Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie called for the government to tighten measures after one of his constituents, Cyriac Joseph, was killed in the crash

AIM Logistics, which employed one of the offending lorry drivers, Ryszard Masierak, said after the conviction that all its drivers were subjected to checks every three months, as per DVLA advice.

The company said Masierak had his licence checked in June 2017. However, it said neither the employee nor the DVLA informed the firm he had it revoked on 20 July - more than a month before the crash.

Road safety charity Brake said: "This crash has had a truly devastating impact and laid bare the loophole in which employers are not automatically informed if their drivers lose their licence."

Nottingham East MP, Chris Leslie, wrote to the government to ask it to discuss introducing a measure where companies are informed when an employee is convicted of a motoring offence, and subsequently loses their professional driving licence.

But Jesse Norman, parliamentary under-secretary for the Department for Transport, said no plans were in place for discussions.

He added: "The DVLA does not hold or ask for details of where drivers work. In the haulage sector, some drivers are self-employed or work through agencies on short-term contracts for a variety of different companies.

"All employers have a duty to check their employees' licences regularly; the DVLA advises that this should be done at least once every three months and they can do so using the DVLA's free licence check service."