Railtrack director complains of 'vindictive' attacks

Railtrack came under renewed fire yesterday after a senior executive complained about "wild accusations, vindictive attacks and hysterical commentary" in the aftermath of the Paddington disaster.

Railtrack came under renewed fire yesterday after a senior executive complained about "wild accusations, vindictive attacks and hysterical commentary" in the aftermath of the Paddington disaster.

In a letter to the company's employees, the director of Railtrack's southwestern zone wrote: "In amongst the wild accusations, vindictive attacks and hysterical commentary, we have found ourselves lone voices in the industry trying to put over the facts while not descending into pre-judging all of the causes of Ladbroke Grove."

John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, refused to condemn the comments from the executive, whose name has not been released. But Mr Prescott said it was "certainly not the voice" he had heard from Railtrack when he had met it to discuss safety improvements.

Last week, he distanced himself from the comments made by Richard Middleton, the commercial director, who complained about "hysteria" in response to the accident in which 30 people lost their lives.

Then, Mr Middleton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that safety would be reviewed after Lord Cullen's inquiry into the crash. "But I must stress that it really is time for the hysteria around rail safety to be calmed down," he said. "Rail is a safe mode of transport and Paddington station is safe."

Immediately afterwards, asked whether his view was that there had been hysteria since the disaster, Mr Prescott said: "No, it isn't. I think what they [Railtrack] mean by that is that they would say the railways are more safe than the car."

The letter involving Railtrack's south-western area comes after a series of public-relations gaffes involving the company's directors. Last week Gerald Corbett, the chief executive, said the company paid for improved train safety systems out of profits, but later said that such expenditure would depend on whether Railtrack could levy increased charges on train operators.

It was announced last week that Philip Dewhurst, the company's public relations chief, was leaving before the end of the year. Many in the industry thought his departure was a direct result of the company's deteriorating public image.