Author: Bridget Dolan QC

UCPI Designated Lawyer Officers Core Participant Group v Sir John Mitting (Chairman of the Undercover Policing Inquiry) [2026] EWHC 1394 (Admin) (judgment here) 9 June 2026 Anyone who thought that disappearing abroad would provide a procedural invisibility cloak if an Inquiry chair or Coroner wanted to hear their evidence is now going to have to […]

Read More… from Summonsing reluctant witnesses: Might a Coroner’s Schedule 5 notice reach Overseas?

Chief Coroners Guidance for Coroners on the Bench – Updated 10 May 2026 here A series of updates to the Chief Coroners ‘Bench Book’ have just been published. As the Chief Coroner made clear at its initial publication her Guidance for Coroners on the Bench is intended to be an internet based resource.  Printing a […]

Read More… from Disputes over the release of a body

R (O’Brien) v HM Assistant Coroner for Sefton, Knowsley and St Helens [2026] EWCA Civ 499 (22 April 2026) here. The Court of Appeal has handed down some useful guidance on how to approach the thorny issue of causation in deaths where domestic violence has been a factor and there had been previous contact with […]

Read More… from Premature to dismiss something as speculative before it is explored

R (Wells Rugby Football Club Ltd and Taunton Rugby Football Club Ltd) v HM Senior Coroner for Somerset [2026] EWHC(Oral Permission Hearing – Kimblin J):  28 April 2026 (an unapproved note of judgment is here) The High Court’s refusal of permission in this recent case provides a useful reminder of how carefully coronial language is […]

Read More… from “Poor” but Not Negligent: Drawing the Line in Coroners’ Narrative Conclusions