A health and safety tsar for the UK should be appointed to help tackle the growing problem of tens of thousands of deaths caused by the workplace each year, says the country’s leading trade union body.

In a new report the Trades Union Congress (TUC) says more than 20 000 people in the UK are killed prematurely by their work every year.

For the report the TUC said it analysed the most conservative official safety figures available, which showed that at least 20 000 people die early as a result of their work every year through occupational cancers, lung disorders, exposure to fumes or chemicals, and fatal traffic incidents.

Although the Health and Safety Executive, the country’s watchdog for health and safety, estimates that more than 8000 deaths are caused each year by occupational cancers, the …