Redcar SSI blast: No manslaughter charges after pair killed

Tommy Williams and John Mackay were killed in the blast in 2019

There will be no corporate manslaughter charges after two men were killed in an explosion at a former steelworks site four years ago, it has been announced.

John Mackay, 49, from Edinburgh, and Tommy Williams, 65, from Warwickshire, died at the SSI site in Middlesbrough.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Cleveland Police investigation found insufficient evidence to pursue gross or corporate manslaughter charges.

The HSE will continue to lead a criminal investigation into the deaths.

The former coke ovens were eventually demolished

It said the families had been informed of the decision, and it would continue to work with Cleveland Police.

HSE principal inspector John Heslop said he recognised "some of these developments are difficult for the families" of Mr Mackay and Mr Williams.

"We also made it clear our investigation will be a thorough one, while also recognising the desire for a speedy conclusion," he said.

Fire crews were called to the old coke ovens at the SSI site in South Bank in September 2019

The men had been inside a cherry picker working on pipes near a gas holder at the time of the blast on 19 September 2019.

The site was evacuated before the emergency services cordoned off the area and extinguished the fire.

Last year, the widow of Mr Mackay said there had been no further answers on what happened at what is now called Teesworks, telling the BBC he died "through no fault of his own".

Both families previously paid tribute to the men with Mr Mackay described as "much-loved", while Mr Williams' wife, Bobbie, said he would be "desperately missed".

The steelworks, which was being decommissioned, closed in 2015 when its Thai-based owners went into liquidation and 2,200 workers lost their jobs.