Calls for a public inquiry into the Potters Bar rail crash have been welcomed by Steve Norris, the Conservative candidate for London Mayor.

Mr Norris is also a director of the rail company Jarvis, one of the sub-contractors responsible for track maintenance at Potters Bar, which has so far failed to acknowledge any responsibility for the disaster.

Speaking at the Hendon Conservative Association last week ( Wednesday, May 14), Mr Norris said: "The most important thing we can do is to find out what happened and what has to be changed to ensure it never happens again.

"We would welcome a public inquiry."

Louise Christian, a solicitor representing victims of the crash, which killed seven people and injured 76, has called for a public inquiry. Without one, she says, the costs of suing for compensation would be prohibitive for the victims, especially as their requests for legal aid have so far failed.

Mr Norris said the burden of finding out what caused the crash did not lie with Jarvis.

"I am confident that our safety standards are not only the best in the industry but have actually now been adopted by the rail industry," he said. "We remain confident the company will be exonerated.

"Nobody at Jarvis has ever said that the accident was caused by sabotage. What we said was that we could see no reason, given the serious inspection that set of points went through, why the failure had taken place."

The former Transport Minister said: "The department [of Transport] has always been very loath to launch public inquiries, because they don't add anything. That's their argument.

"I think what a public inquiry adds is the opportunity for people to see in public what evidence is presented, and what it amounts to."