Two Commons committees have called for the government's draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill to be toughened up.

In a joint report released on Tuesday, the home affairs and work and pensions committees said the current proposals may create "perverse" incentives to treat health and safety less seriously.

Ministers have promised to tackle gross corporate negligence through the Bill following the high-profile rail crashes at Potters Bar and Hatfield.

But the MPs said the legislation as it stands may help some big firms to avoid prosecution.

By making firms liable for worker deaths caused by "senior management" companies could escape action by delegating health and safety decisions to junior staff, the committees warned.

They recommended measures to improve the law including a new offence of "secondary liability for corporate manslaughter", a broader range of penalties to take circumstances into account and provisions for companies to be forced to pay compensation.

The report welcomed the intention to legislate but questioned why the Bill had taken so long to materialise.

"The reform of corporate manslaughter law is long overdue," home affairs committee chairman John Denham said.

"The new Bill must be introduced this year, but it must take into account our recommendations if relatives of victims are not to feel cheated of justice in the future."