Review adds teeth to Prevention of Future Death reporting

The recommendations arising from the project led by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC)[1] with support from the Chief Coroner’s Office: ‘ “More than a paper exercise” – Enhancing the impact of Prevention of Future Death Reports’ (here), are to be widely welcomed.  Indeed, it could be seen as a call to government […]

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A Coroner may not use protected material from an aircrash investigation that has been deployed in public in a criminal trial

Senior Coroner for West Sussex v (1) Chief Constable Sussex Police (2) Secretary of State for Transport (3) Mr Hill [2022] EWHC 215 (QB) (judgment here). 4 February 2022 The Shoreham Aircrash in 2015, its investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, (published in 2017) and the ensuing criminal trial (concluding in 2019) have produced a […]

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Change the law to make Reports to Prevent Future Deaths work

The Grenfell Tower fire shows the need to give coroners’ recommendations more teeth. On 28 March 2013 the coroner, after verdicts were returned on the deaths of six people in Lakanal House in 2009, made important and potential life saving recommendations  (see for example her Letter to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local […]

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Bridget Dolan QC & Jamie Mathieson appointed as counsel to the Geoff Gray ‘Deepcut’ Inquest

His Hon Peter Rook, Q.C. has appointed Bridget Dolan QC and Jamie Mathieson as Counsel to the Inquest into the death of Private Geoff Gray. This is the third fresh inquest into a death of a trainee at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey. It follows the inquests into the deaths of Ms Cheryl James and Mr […]

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Bridget Dolan QC & Jamie Mathieson appointed as counsel to the Sean Benton ‘Deepcut’ Inquest

His Hon Peter Rook, Q.C. has appointed Bridget Dolan QC and Jamie Mathieson as Counsel to the Inquest into the death of Private Sean Benton. This is the second fresh inquest into a death of a trainee at Deepcut Barracks, Surrey in 1995. The inquest is listed to commence in 2018. At a pre-inquest review hearing held […]

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