STUDENT Simon Jones died just two hours after starting work at Shoreham Harbour - yet ten months on nobody has been brought to book for his death. Moves to find out who was responsible have opened a can of worms about the rights of casual workers in Britain and the Crown Prosecution Service is due to announce the results of its review of the case next week. DAVID EDWARDS reports.

SIMON Jones moved from his home town of Banbury, Oxfordshire, to study for his degree in social anthropolgy.

He was a popular 21-year-old who worked hard, got involved in protest politics and enjoyed his time at the University of Sussex. There he met Emma Aynsley, who became his girlfriend.

She said: "He was a very cheery chap with a big smile and a wonderful sense of humour. He loved to travel and was planning to return to Spain - he really saw the world as his oyster."

During the third year of his course, Simon, 24, decided to take some time off from his studies and visited Personnel Selection, an employment agency in West Street, Brighton, to try and find work.

The firm later called to say he was to report to Shoreham Harbour on April 24 where he would be working as a docker for around £5 an hour.

Upon arriving at the wharf, Simon was sent into the hold of a Polish ship, the Cambrook, and started hooking up bags of cobbles to chains attached to a machine's grab which lifted them from the vessel.

It is hard, sweaty work and the first time Simon had ever worked on a ship before - but the cash would help pay for his dreams of seeing the world.

But after two hours in the hold, something happened which ended his plans forever.

Somehow the crane came in too close to where he was working and its grab crushed Simon's head, almost decapitating him.

Sean Currey, another casual worker who was working alongside, suffered nightmares for months afterwards.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive was immediately launched and two prohibition notices and an improvement notice were issued against Euromin, the Dutch firm which owns the wharf.

Police also arrested the firm's general manager, James Martell, and the crane driver, although both were later released without charge.

When Emma heard the news that nobody was being held responsible, she was shocked.

She said: "It's not possible to describe what we felt, that nobody was going to to be blamed for this."

In June, she met with some of Simon's friends and fellow campaigners and together they launched The Simon Jones Memorial Campaign.

The group has been trying to find out just who was responsible for the accident in a bid to bring the culprits to justice.

Since his death, Simon has transcended his role as a student who was involved in protest politics and is now seen as a symbol of all that is wrong with Britain's casual labour market.

Emma believes he has become a martyr to the campaign for better employment rights in much the same way that murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence has become a cause celebre for groups fighting police racism.

She said: "The similarities are there - when a member of your family is killed, justice should be automatic, not something you have to fight for when you should be grieving."

The group has its own website and has been lobbying Parliament in a bid to get a full investigation into Simon's death and reviews of Britain's labour laws and how the Health and Safety Executive is run.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which decided last month there was insufficient evidence to prosecute, has agreed to look into the matter again. Its findings are expected to be made public next week.

Mick Holder works for the London Hazard Centre, a charity which offers advice to aggrieved employees and which has been liaising with the group.

He said: "When someone as young as Simon gets killed in such a dreadful way it's no wonder people get angry.

"If it wasn't for Simon's family and friends' determination, this would have gone the same way as all the other deaths at work - nothing would have happened.

"For every Simon there are another 300 people who get killed every year in accidents, but their employers don't face criminal sanctions.

"The average fine for killing a worker is £3,000, so often it's cheaper to take the risk. This will become a cause celebre and quite rightly so."

The memorial campaign has also enlisted the services of Louise Christian, the solicitor who represented the survivors of the Marchioness, which sank in the River Thames claiming dozens of lives.

She said: "There have been cases like this before and it's a matter of public concern that criminal actions against employers aren't taken more seriously.

"What we need is a change in political will to get these prosecutions. At the moment the criminal justice system is biased against taking these sorts of people to court.

"There have only been about half a dozen such cases and only two were successful."

MP Des Turner, who represents Brighton Kemp Town is also critical of the Crown Prosecution Service.

He said: "It needs a radical overhaul to prevent this sort of thing happening again.

"The service often lets us down. Certainly the police get quite frustrated at the service when it doesn't prosecute, even with a perfectly good case.

"I seriously think there needs to be more effort on the part of Government to improve regulations."

The memorial campaign at last seems to be making some headway - George Galloway, MP for Simon's home town, will raise a debate on the Government's policy towards the Health and Safety Executive in Parliament on Wednesday.

More importantly, the Crown Prosecution Service is to announce in the same week the results of its review into the case.

If it decides not to take any action against Ermine, the Health and Safety Executive may decide to go it alone against the firm.

A spokesmen for Personnel Selection and Euromin refused to comment on the matter.

On September 1 last year, around 30 of Simon's friends stormed the harbour and hung a huge banner from the top of an 80ft lighting tower.

It was a highly symbolic move showing Simon would never be forgotten by those who knew and loved him.

Emma said: "Simon was someone who was very active trying to change things he didn't like. When he died we decided to take the same path."

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