John Lewis admits asbestos health scare charges at city store

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard yesterday that men were told to restart work even after the alarm had been raised.

If asbestos is disturbed it can release harmful fibres into the air, which may lead to diseases such as cancer, lung scarring and serious respiratory problems.

Yesterday John Lewis, along with contractors Morris & Spottiswood, pleaded guilty to breaches of health and safety under he Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Robert Fife, on behalf of John Lewis, said: "My client is in no way denying that they made mistakes. This has been a learning curve for John Lewis. But I think the important thing to note is that no-one got hurt."

Craig Turnbull, for Morris & Spottiswood, said: "It was not a deliberate mistake, no-one suspected anything.

"It would have been difficult for a company to have done any more under the circumstances."

Sheriff Jarvie said she needed time to look over the details, and deferred sentencing until 9 November. The case was taken to court after a 12-month investigation by officers from the City of Edinburgh Council.

After the hearing Barry Matheson, managing director of John Lewis Edinburgh, said: "John Lewis takes the health and safety of our partners (staff] and customers very seriously, and has developed extensive procedures to ensure our network of shops across the UK are safe places to work and shop."

A spokesman for Morris & Spottiswood said: "This was an error of judgment rather than a disregard for the stringent safety protocols we have in place for dealing with asbestos.

"This was mitigated by the fact that our employees have received extensive asbestos training and took correct and immediate action to avert any possible further danger.

"In the light of the situation we immediately took steps to review our small-works plan and risk assessments, and have introduced additional robust measures to ensure this cannot be allowed to happen again."

Robert Aldridge, the council's environment leader, said: "Council officers worked hard on a long and intensive investigation to bring this to court."