Alan Osborne to be new Director of Railway Safety at the HSE

HSE Press Release E142:02 - 16 July 2002

Alan Osborne has been appointed to the post of Director of Railway Safety at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

This is a new post created in response to a recommendation made by Lord Cullen in his report on the Ladbroke Grove rail crash.

Alan will take up his appointment on 1 November 2002. He will have responsibility for Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) and will be a member of the HSE Board.

After obtaining a degree in Health and Safety Engineering from the University of Aston in Birmingham, Alan worked in a number of safety-related posts within the chemicals industry. These included Bayer Chemicals, Burmah Oil and BOC.

In 1988 he joined London Underground after the publication of the public inquiry report into the King's Cross station fire to implement the safety recommendations. He was appointed Safety and Quality Director there in 1991.

In 1994 he joined BAA plc as Director of Safety, Security and Environment. He became Group Risk Management Director six years later and Group Risk and Safety Management Director in 2001.

During 2001 he was also appointed, and has since resigned, as independent chairman of the Metronet (preferred PPP bidder by London Underground) Board Safety Committee.

Mr Osborne is 44 and married with two children.

Notes to editors

1. The HSE is the public body responsible for ensuring that workers and public are protected from harm.

2. In The Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry Part 2 Report, Lord Cullen recommended (recommendation 36) that "the HMRI should be placed under the direction of a new post, to be filled by a person of outstanding managerial ability, not necessarily with a railway background."

3. The appointment was made following an open competition that considered candidates from both the public and private sectors.

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