THE long-awaited corporate killing bill is in turmoil, following rumours that civil servants are concerned they too could be in the firing line.

The Government has pledged to create a corporate killing law which targets a ‘controlling mind’ within a company who is responsible for avoidable loss of life.

But there are worries within Whitehall that the fine print to the draft bill, thought to be pencilled in for this autumn’s Queen’s Speech, will lead to a raft of prosecutions right up to Government level.

Firms have been worried that directors could be held directly responsible for the actions of their drivers on the road, but it also seems that legislation could have an impact on areas such as Government policy decisions that lead to death, or councils which fail to act on accident blackspots.

A number of councils are under investigation from the police over the state of roads at the time of fatal accidents.

Such is the difficulty of fine tuning the small print that many experts are privately sceptical that any bill will ever see the light of day. If it does, it will not be until after the next general election.

The Confederation of British Industry has urged the Government not to exempt state-run bodies from any legislation.