DoT's secret e-mail to 'dig dirt' on victim of Paddington

Senior figures at the Department of Transport sent a secret e-mail to uncover information on the Paddington rail crash survivor Pam Warren in what has been seen as an attempt to discredit her.

Mrs Warren, who was badly burnt in the disaster and came to symbolise the failures of rail safety, made the headlines again recently when she accused Stephen Byers, who was Transport Secretary at the time, of misleading Parliament.

The e-mail sent from the Department of Transport asked for any information about Mrs Warren, who wore a surgical mask for several months after the crash to protect scar tissue on her face. The memo was circulated within the department and Labour Party headquarters at Millbank.

Mrs Warren, 35, a financial consultant, claimed last month that Mr Byers was lying when he told MPs he had not made the decision to place Railtrack into administration until 5 October last year.

Mrs Warren, supported by two other survivors of the tragedy, said the Transport Secretary had indicated to them a month previously the company was doomed. She said Mr Byers was "chuckling and grinning" as he told the meeting Railtrack "wouldn't be much trouble for much longer".

Downing Street initially said the Government disagreed with her account. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Byers later conceded her recollection of the meeting was substantially accurate but insisted no final decision was made until 5 October.

The e-mail seeking any information on Mrs Warren was sent out before her revelations but it is understood there was concern at senior levels of the Department of Transport that she was about to "go public''.

Two separate sources have told The Independent that, while the memo simply requested details about Mrs Warren, it was widely interpreted by recipients as an attempt to "dig the dirt'' or "rake up some muck''. It is thought there was particular interest in whether she had a "political axe to grind''. There is no suggestion Mr Byers was personally involved in the initiative.

Mrs Warren and two other members of the Paddington survivors' group revealed their conversation with Mr Byers after the Potters Bar crash on 10 May, in which seven people were killed. Mrs Warren, who has stood down as chairman of the Paddington survivors' group, said she felt let down by the Prime Minister and Mr Byers over rail safety.

Some of those bereaved by the Paddington crash, however, had misgivings about her decision to divulge what was said at the meeting with Mr Byers.

Civil servants are privately delighted at the departure of Mr Byers and hope Alistair Darling, his successor, will usher in an era of stability. The perceived attempt to investigate Mrs Warren's background is seen as typical of the old regime.

Mrs Warren was in the London-bound Great Western express on 5 October 1999 that was hit almost head-on by a Thames Trains commuter service that had passed a red light. Thirty-one people were either killed in the impact or lost their lives in the ensuing fire.

The Crown Prosecution Service recently ordered British Transport Police to reopen their investigations into the tragedy.The new inquiry means Railtrack managers could yet face manslaughter charges over their alleged failure to ensure the track and signalling were safe. The police have been asked to make fresh inquiries into the way management dealt with the safety of signalling and track layout.

A spokeswoman at the Department of Transport refused to comment about the e-mail.