no, there does not have to be an actual accident for an offence to be committed, the exposure to the hazard, risk or danger is an offence - depending of course on the exposure and degree of risk. It would be probably be compounded if the risk was not properly understood or communicated. HSE’s R2P2 explains all of this quite well.

Quite correct. The HSE's case was that it WAS compounded because MoD did not understand the risk (even though admitting it did) and MB not communicating the risk (even though verbal, written and video evidence proved they did).

(Here, we must differentiate between what the corporate MoD knew, and the carefully selected single witness who said he didn't understand - because he hadn't been trained. The HSE's case was that MB remained liable for providing this training, and compensating for MoD's cut-backs, even after their contract was cancelled in 1983).

In her remarks the Judge claimed she had not read this evidence, supplied by the public. But it was obvious from her remarks that she HAD read at least some of it. What she didn't explain was that the same evidence had been sent to her by the original Coroner, Stuart Fisher. I'm told by a QC that, while she did not have to read the public submissions, she did have to declare what she did read; and that she would be very unwise to ignore the Coroner, whose submission to her made it very clear he had been misled in 2014.