Cutty Sark fire investigators slam "complacent" security

The two men were employed to patrol the site every hour from 7pm to 7am. But investigators uncovered several falsified entries on May 21, and one page from the log book had been removed and "clumsily" hidden in a waste bin.

When interviewed, one man said the page had been removed as a drink had been spilt on it, while another claimed he had removed it to cover up for his colleague who was feeling unwell. Det Ch Insp Garwood bemoaned the "vague and inconsistent" testimony of the pair, who were immediately dismissed.

Construction managers Heery had hired Munnelly Support Services to provide 24-hour security for the ship.

He said: "It's not unfair to conclude that the fire could have been detected earlier had they patrolled correctly.
"Basically, we have the sort of guys who do night security, who weren't paid a lot of money and didn't do the job they were supposed to do. I don't think we're looking at anything more sinister than that."

The 16-month investigation narrowed the cause of the fire down to a 220 volt industrial vacuum cleaner at at the foot of the stairs to the rear of the ship. The investigators believe the appliance may have been left switched on for 48 hours before the blaze. They concluded arson was "unlikely" to have been the cause of the fire.

The fire added a further £10million to the cost of the conservation project, which was due to finish this year. Cutty Sark Trust chief executive Richard Doughty now believes the work will be completed by Summer 2010.

He refused to comment on many of the findings of the investigation when it was presented at New Scotland Yard today. But he refused to rule out legal action against the security firm on the site.

Mr Doughty said: "We'll certainly be considering our position with our lawyers."