Inquests, Legal Aid and time for change - now!

The lack of availability of legal aid for Inquests is in the news again. We have already had the controversy of the refusal of legal aid for the family of Molly Russell whose death was thought to be linked to Social Media. This decision was eventually reversed by the Legal Aid Agency after wide criticism –

https://thestevecornforthblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/molly-russell-instagram-and-legal-aid.html

In August 2019 there was a further outcry when families of the Manchester Bombing victims faced a similar struggle –

 https://thestevecornforthblog.blogspot.com/2019/08/legal-aid-hashem-abedi-and.html

Now the families of victims of the 1974 Guildford Bombings have been refused Legal Aid for representation at fresh inquests. This incident led to one of our most shameful miscarriages of justice when the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven were wrongly convicted and spent up to 16 years in prison. In the meantime, the families of the victims still wait to find out the truth.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49484921

To most people this is a case where the availability of legal aid should be beyond debate. The public bodies involved will have full representation paid for by the state. As things stand, the families will have none – unless they can pay for it, or their lawyers continue to act for nothing. 

This is due to the very restrictive rules on legal aid for inquests. There is no entitlement as such. Funding is available in ‘exceptional circumstances’. There must be a wider public interest, not in the inquest itself but in the family being represented. These are going to be long and complex inquests with significant and expensive legal representation by some of our top QCs. It is clearly in the wider public interests that the families of those who lost their lives have the same representation as the police and the MOD. Why should they be left to fend for themselves?

In this case the Coroner himself has written to Legal Aid Agency but there is no guarantee that this will make a difference. The time has surely come for a change in the rules. The charity, INQUEST has longed campaigned for a right to full, non means tested legal aid for families at inquests involving deaths that are ‘state related.’ They say on their website –

‘Without funded representation, families are denied their voice and meaningful participation in the processes of investigation, learning and accountability. This inequality of arms is an unacceptable curtailing of justice, undermining the preventative potential of inquests, to interrogate the facts and ensure harmful practices are brought to light. Inquests following state related deaths are intended to seek the truth, to expose unsafe practices and abuses of state power. But the reality faced by most families is of multiple expert legal teams defending the interests and reputations of state and corporate bodies - fighting to shut down or narrow lines of enquiry, with a primary focus on damage limitation.’

https://www.inquest.org.uk/legal-aid-for-inquests

There is a call to action on their site which invites readers to sign a petition. That is one small action that we can all take. This should not be controversial. Why should those who suffer most, be the only ones excluded from the process.

 www.stevecornforth.com