SAFETY campaign group Hazards challenged Britain’s politicians yesterday to take action to protect employees in the workplace.

Thousands of workers die of preventable work-related incidents and illness each year with campaigners arguing that official figures are merely the tip of the iceberg.

Government slashing of so-called “red tape” and drastically reducing funding for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has left many pro-active inspections in many industries a thing of the past which, campaigners argue, could lead to more deaths.