Law change after gas deaths

Home Secretary David Blunkett is set to overhaul a law blamed for the death of two pensioners, it emerged today.

He is likely to bow to calls for changes to the controversial Data Protection Act following the inquest on 89-year-old George Bates and his wife Gertrude, 86.

The couple were found dead at their home in south London 13 weeks after British Gas cut off their supply. Mr Bates died of hypothermia and his wife suffered a heart attack.

The company, in evidence to the inquest, said the Act barred it from reporting the health or financial background of its customers to social services. Before it came in they would have informed the authorities of a disconnection.

This has intensified current criticism of the legislation, blamed by police in the Soham murder case for failure to pass on details of sex abuse allegations made against Ian Huntley.

Today, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens said that his force had experienced serious problems with the Act.

As politicians from all sides demanded urgent action, former Home Office minister George Howarth disclosed that Mr Blunkett had already launched a review of the Act.

Mr Howarth, who piloted the legislation through the Commons last year, said it had been based on a data protection directive from the European Union. But it was now suffering from "over-zealous interpretation" and a "lack of clarity in the guidance".

He added on Radio 4's World At One: "It was never intended to protect people in the circumstances that arose from the Soham murders - and it certainly was never intended that people should end up dying as a result of companies turning off their energy."

Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes said: "The lessons from last week's admission by Humberside police and this week's by British Gas show that ministers need to sort out the rules."

Shadow constitutional affairs minister Alan Duncan said: "Having made law, we have to ensure it is working."

The minister responsible, Lord Filkin reaffirmed that the law does not bar revealing personal data where it would help the vulnerable - and that it should not have prevented British Gas from passing on the information about Mr and Mrs Bates.

He went on: "I will discuss with the information commissioner whether there is a need for additional guidance to clarify the position."

British Gas said this afternoon that it understood exemptions could be made under the Act for those at risk but its representative had "no reason to believe" Mrs Bates was "vulnerable".

It said: "We want to reassure customers that we do everything within our powers to take care of vulnerable people. This is a very tragic case."