Inquest (charity)

Last updated
Inquest
Founded1981
Type Charitable organization
Registration no.1046650
FocusState-related deaths
Location
  • Finsbury Park, London
Area served
England and Wales
Key people
Deborah Coles, Director
Employees
15
Website www.inquest.org.uk

Inquest Charitable Trust (stylised as INQUEST so as not to be confused with the legal process known as an inquest) is a charity concerned with state related deaths in England and Wales. It was founded in 1981. [1] Inquest provides support on state-related deaths, including deaths in custody and their investigation, to bereaved people, lawyers, advice and support agencies, the media and parliamentarians. [2] Their policy, parliamentary, campaigning and media work is grounded in the day-to-day experience of working with bereaved people.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Inquest's specialist casework includes deaths in police and prison custody, immigration detention, mental health settings and deaths involving multi-agency failings or where wider issues of state and corporate accountability are in question, such as the deaths and wider issues around Hillsborough and the Grenfell Tower fire. [3] [4] [ non-primary source needed ] However they also have a handbook which is relevant to all families facing an inquest: The Inquest Handbook: a guide for bereaved families, friends and their advisors, for anyone dealing with an inquest, freely available online and also in print. [5] [6] [7]

The director of the Inquest is Deborah Coles, [2] who has worked for the charity since 1989. She has been an independent expert adviser to numerous government committees and inquiries, is a regular media commentator, delivers conference papers nationally and internationally and has authored numerous articles and publications. [8] [ non-primary source needed ]

The chair of the trustees, as of June 2016, is solicitor Daniel Machover, [9] The poet Benjamin Zephaniah is the charity's patron; [10] his cousin Mikey Powell died in 2003 after being detained by police, for which West Midlands Police issued an apology in 2013. [11]

Inquest are represented on the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody. [12]

Inquest's logo includes the words "truth, justice and accountability" and an image of a keyhole. [3]

Inquest Charitable Trust is a registered charity, number 1046650. [3]

Inquest's work

History

Inquest was founded in 1981 at a time of dissatisfaction with procedures for dealing with deaths in custody and at the hands of the police, and the failure of the official response to these deaths, in particular the deaths of Jimmy Kelly and Blair Peach. [13] [3] Both men died after being assaulted by police officers, and both of the inquests set up following their deaths denied their families access to relevant information. [14] [15] [16]

Following a sustained campaign by Inquest, Peach's family and supporters the internal investigation of the Metropolitan Police (known as the Cass Report) was published. This report found that Blair Peach had been killed by a police officer, and then other officers lied in order to prevent this being made public. [17] [18]

Inquest's decades of work to improve the rights of bereaved people at inquests into contentious deaths led to the use of narrative conclusions at inquests and greater use of coroners’ reports to prevent future deaths. They used Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights to secure more wide-ranging inquests into deaths involving state bodies. [19]

Campaigns and achievements

The organisation has successfully campaigned for reforms including: the establishment of independent investigations following deaths in police custody by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and prisons by Prisons and Probation Ombudsman in 2004, and the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act, which allows for companies and organisations to be held legally responsible for certain deaths. [19] Inquest lobbied for, influenced and informed the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, [20] [21] [ non-primary source needed ] and led the successful campaign to safeguard the post of the first Chief Coroner of England and Wales. [22] [23] [ non-primary source needed ]

Inquest has lobbied for, advised on and provided expert evidence in a number of significant government reviews including the  Corston Report [24] into vulnerable women in prison; the Harris Review on self-inflicted deaths of young people in prison; [25] and the cross-government Care Quality Commission review into the investigation of NHS deaths, [26] among many others. [27]

In 2015 it was announced by Theresa May, then the Home Secretary, that Inquest's director Deborah Coles would be a special adviser to Dame Elish Angiolini QC who was chairing the Independent Review Into Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody, [28] and Inquest would be involved in enabling bereaved families to give evidence to the inquiry. [29] [30] In October 2017 the report was published and made a range of recommendations which reflected the long-running work and aims of Inquest. [31] [32]

In 2016 Inquest used Freedom of Information requests to compile a report finding that at least nine young people had died since 2010 while in-patients in mental health units, and called for such deaths to be statutorily notified and investigated. [33]

Hillsborough

Inquest supported families and their lawyers through the historic new Hillsborough inquests in 2016, which concluded with an unlawful killing finding for the first time and exonerated both survivors and the 96 people who died. They were then involved in a review on the experiences of Hillsborough families, [34]  published in October 2017 and chaired by Bishop James Jones. This review backed the proposed Hillsborough Law, [35] formally titled The Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, which was first read in Parliament in March 2017 by Andy Burnham MP and received cross-party support. [36] The bill would increase the accountability of public bodies and ensure bereaved families had equal legal representation at an inquest where state bodies are represented. Due to the 2017 UK General Election the bill dropped off the parliamentary calendar, but lawyers, MPs, Hillsborough families and Inquest are campaigning for it to be brought through Parliament again and implemented. [37] [ non-primary source needed ]

Prizes

In 2009 Inquest won the Longford Prize, an annual award in the field of social or penal reform. The judges commended Inquest's "remarkable perseverance, personal commitment and courage in an area too often under-investigated by the public authorities, and especially for its support for the families of those who have taken their own lives while in the care of the state". [38]

Inquest has twice received the Liberty Human Rights Award in 2015 for their work uncovering serious human rights abuses of children in custody [39] and in 2016 for their work with the family of Connor Sparrowhawk [40] and Bindmans Solicitors to improve the standard of care provided for people with mental health and learning disabilities. [41]

Notable cases

Inquest have supported bereaved families, and assisted lawyers and supporters following deaths in custody and detention, notable cases include:

Notable staff

Inquest publications

Further reading

See also

Related Research Articles

Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden or unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of and discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove". In England and Wales, inquests are the responsibility of a coroner, who operates under the jurisdiction of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. In some circumstances where an inquest cannot view or hear all the evidence, it may be suspended and a public inquiry held with the consent of the Home Secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsborough disaster</span> Human crush during the 1989 FA Cup semi-final

The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush at a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane stand allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the entrance turnstiles, the police match commander, David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C to be opened, leading to an influx of supporters entering the pens. This resulted in overcrowding of those pens and the crush. With 97 deaths and 766 injuries, it has the highest death toll in British sporting history. Ninety-four people died on the day; another person died in hospital days later, and another victim died in 1993. In July 2021, a coroner ruled that Andrew Devine, who died 32 years later, after suffering severe and irreversible brain damage on the day, was the 97th victim. The match was abandoned and restaged at Old Trafford in Manchester on 7 May 1989; Liverpool won and went on to win that season's FA Cup.

A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Harris, Baron Harris of Haringey</span>

Jonathan Toby Harris, Baron Harris of Haringey is a Labour Party politician in the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Blair Peach</span> Anti-Nazi protestor killed by the police in 1979

Clement Blair Peach was a New Zealand teacher who was killed during an anti-racism demonstration in Southall, London, England. A campaigner and activist against the far right, in April 1979 Peach took part in an Anti-Nazi League demonstration in Southall against a National Front election meeting in the town hall and was hit on the head, probably by a member of the Special Patrol Group (SPG), a specialist unit within the Metropolitan Police Service. He died in hospital that night.

Anthony David Bland was a supporter of Liverpool F.C. injured in the Hillsborough disaster. He suffered severe brain damage that left him in a persistent vegetative state as a consequence of which the hospital, with the support of his parents, applied for a court order allowing him to "die with dignity". As a result, he became the first patient in English legal history to be allowed to die by the courts through the withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment including food and water for the injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatal accident inquiry</span> United Kingdom legislation

A fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland. Until 2009, they did not apply to any deaths occurring in other jurisdictions, when the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 extended the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 to service personnel at the discretion of the Chief Coroner or the Secretary of State. The equivalent process in England and Wales is an inquest. A major review of the fatal accident inquiries was undertaken by Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, at the request of the Scottish Government, which resulted in the passing of the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aboriginal deaths in custody</span> Political and social issue in Australia

Aboriginal deaths in custody is a political and social issue in Australia. It rose in prominence in the early 1980s, with Aboriginal activists campaigning following the death of 16-year-old John Peter Pat in 1983. Subsequent deaths in custody, considered suspicious by families of the deceased, culminated in the 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC).

In English law, unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales when someone has been killed by one or more unknown persons. The verdict means that the killing was done without lawful excuse and in breach of criminal law. This includes murder, manslaughter, infanticide and causing death by dangerous driving. A verdict of unlawful killing generally leads to a police investigation, with the aim of gathering sufficient evidence to identify, charge and prosecute those responsible.

Deaths in custody, including police and prison custody, are subject to great concern for a number of reasons, including the intrinsically vulnerable nature of some of those in custody, and the power imbalance inherent in the situation. Deaths in custody in England and Wales are looked at by inquests, and when it is possible that the state failed to protect the deceased's life are scrutinised using the 'right to life'.

Oluwashijibomi "Shiji" Lapite was a 34-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker who died in the back of a police van shortly after being detained by two officers from Stoke Newington police station in London.

Paul Knapman DL was Her Majesty's coroner for Westminster, from 1980 to 2011. His responsibility for investigating sudden deaths as an independent judicial officer saw him preside over numerous notable cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Christopher Alder</span>

Christopher Alder was a trainee computer programmer and former British Army paratrooper who had served in the Falklands War and was commended for his service with the Army in Northern Ireland. He died in police custody at Queen's Gardens Police Station, Kingston upon Hull, in April 1998. The case became a cause célèbre for civil rights campaigners in the United Kingdom. He had earlier been the victim of an assault outside a nightclub and was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary where, possibly as a result of his head injury, staff said his behaviour was "extremely troublesome." He was escorted from the hospital by two police officers who arrested him to prevent a breach of the peace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Mark Duggan</span> British black man shot and killed by police in 2011

Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black British man, was shot dead by police in Tottenham, North London on 4 August 2011. The Metropolitan Police stated that officers were attempting to arrest Duggan on suspicion of planning an attack and that he was in possession of a handgun. Duggan died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The circumstances of Duggan's death resulted in public protests in Tottenham, which led to conflict with police and escalated into riots across London and other English cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Sean Rigg</span>

Sean Rigg was a 40-year-old black British musician and music producer who had paranoid schizophrenia. He died following a cardiac arrest on 21 August 2008 while in police custody at the entrance to Brixton police station, South London, England. The case became a cause célèbre for civil rights and justice campaigners in the United Kingdom, who called for "improvement and change on a national level" regarding deaths in police custody and the police treatment of suspects with mental health issues.

Phil Scraton is a critical criminologist, academic and author. He is a social researcher, known particularly for his investigative work into the context, circumstances and aftermath of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. More recently, he was a member of the Hillsborough Independent Panel and headed its research. Currently he is Professor Emeritus, School of Law at Queen's University Belfast, and formerly Director of the Childhood, Transition and Social Justice Initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Ms Dhu</span> Australian Aboriginal woman

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Leslie Thomas KC is a British barrister and law professor. He has acted on a number of high-profile death cases and inquests, and is noted as a "star individual" for Police Law (Claimant) work in Chambers and Partners with specialist expertise in cases of death in custody and death at the hands of the police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaths at Deepcut army barracks</span> A series of deaths at a British Army camp in Surrey, England

The Deaths at Deepcut Barracks is a series of incidents that took place involving the deaths in obscure circumstances of five British Army trainee soldiers at the Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut in the county of Surrey, between 1995 and 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Olaseni Lewis</span> Policing incident in the United Kingdom

Olaseni Lewis, a 23-year-old British man, died on 3 September 2010 at Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, United Kingdom, after police subjected him to prolonged physical restraint. Lewis had voluntarily sought care following the onset of acute mental health issues and died from cerebral hypoxia soon after, following actions that involved eleven officers of London's Metropolitan Police. After seven years of campaigning by Lewis' family and two inquiries by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), a second coroners' inquiry was raised.

References

  1. ↑ "In Praise of... INQUEST". The Guardian. 4 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Migrant staying at Manston processing centre dies - Home Office". 20 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "About us". Inquest Charitable Trust. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Grenfell Tower". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  5. ↑ The Inquest Handbook: a guide for bereaved families, friends and their advisors. ISBN   978-0-946858-25-5.
  6. ↑ "Help and Advice". Inquest. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Inquest Handbook: A guide for bereaved families, friends and advisors". supportaftersuicide.org.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Staff Team". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  9. ↑ "INQUEST Board". Inquest Charitable Trust. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "Message from our Patron". Inquest Charitable Trust. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "West Midlands Police Apologise to Family of Mimkey Powell Ahead of the 10th Anniversary of his Death". Press releases. Inquest Charitable Trust. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody". Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody.
  13. ↑ Speed, Carly (2012). "Self-Inflicted Deaths in Prison: An Exploration of INQUEST's Challenges to State Power" (PDF). Internet Journal of Criminology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  14. ↑ Scraton, Phil (2005). "The Authoritarian Within: Reflections on Power, Knowledge and Resistance" (PDF). Inaugural Professorial Lecture, Queen's University, Belfast. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "Blair Peach Inquest". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . House of Commons. July 31, 1980. col. 1890–1891.
  16. ↑ "Blair Peach inquiry ruled out". BBC. 13 April 1999. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  17. ↑ Lewis, Paul (27 April 2010). "Blair Peach: After 31 years Met police say 'sorry' for their role in his killing" . Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "Annual Report 2009-10" (PDF). Inquest Charitable Trust. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  19. 1 2 "Our impact". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  20. ↑ "Inquests and Investigations". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  21. ↑ "INQUEST welcomes long-awaited implementation of Coroners and Justice Act 2009". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  22. ↑ "Charities call on MPs to vote for the chief coroner". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  23. ↑ "MPs urged to vote to save the chief coroner". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  24. ↑ Corston, Baroness Jean (2007). The Corston Report (PDF). Home Office. ISBN   9781847261779 . Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  25. ↑ Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (2015). "The Harris Review" . Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  26. ↑ "Learning, candour and accountability: A review of the way NHS trusts review and investigate the deaths of patients in England" (PDF). Care Quality Commission. December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  27. ↑ "Submissions, reports and briefings". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  28. ↑ "Home Secretary announces chair for deaths in custody review". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  29. ↑ Allen, Chris (22 October 2015). "Former Lord Advocate in Scotland to lead custody review in England and Wales". PoliceProfessional.com. ... Inquest will facilitate family listening days so that the Dame Elish can hear evidence from those who have lost loved ones in police custody ...
  30. ↑ "INQUEST Family Listening Day report". Inquest Charitable Trust. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  31. ↑ "Independent review of deaths and serious incidents in police custody". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  32. ↑ "Landmark review on deaths in police custody published today is an opportunity to save lives". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  33. ↑ "Mental health deaths under-reported, says charity". BBC News. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  34. ↑ "Hillsborough stadium disaster: lessons that must be learnt". gov.uk. 1 November 2017.
  35. ↑ Conn, David (2017-11-01). "Official review backs 'Hillsborough law' proposals". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  36. ↑ "Public Authority (Accountability) - Hansard Online". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  37. ↑ "New crowdfunder launched to help INQUEST challenge the state's response to deaths and push for 'Hillsborough Law'". inquest.org.uk.
  38. ↑ "Longford Prize Winner: Inquest". The Longford Trust. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  39. ↑ "Liberty and Justice Host Human Rights Awards". Liberty. 4 December 2007.
  40. ↑ "Justice for LB". justiceforlb.org.
  41. ↑ "Refugee Rights Take Centre Stage at Liberty Human Rights Awards 2016". Liberty. 27 October 2016.
  42. ↑ "Oluwashijibomi Lapite, Inquest briefing" (PDF). inquest.org.uk.
  43. ↑ "Christopher Alder, Inquest briefing" (PDF). inquest.org.uk.
  44. ↑ "Roger Sylvester, Inquest briefing" (PDF). inquest.org.uk.
  45. ↑ "Jean Charles De Menezes, Inquest briefing" (PDF). inquest.org.uk.
  46. ↑ "Ian Tomlinson, Inquest briefing" (PDF). inquest.org.uk.
  47. ↑ "Jury condemns actions of the police and mental health trust in verdict over death of Sean Rigg". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  48. ↑ Gentleman, Amelia; Gayle, Damien (17 February 2016). "Sarah Reed's mother: 'My daughter was failed by many and I was ignored'". The Guardian.
  49. ↑ "Jury concludes unnecessary delays and failures in care contributed to death of Sarah Reed at Holloway prison". Inquest. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  50. ↑ "The World according to Zafar Ansari (Josh Bartholomew, Hampton School)".
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