‘On the 11th of July 2016 a prisoner Mr James Maughan was found dead in his prison cell having hanged himself. The investigation into the factual circumstances surrounding his death found that he had a history of mental health issues and had previously made threats of self-harm. The evening before his death he had been in an agitated state.’
5SAH, 7th January 2021
Source: www.5sah.co.uk
‘For the first time in the UK – and possibly the world – air pollution has been recognised as a cause of a person’s death. But was the ruling just a one-off? And what does it mean for others?’
BBC News, 17th December 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A coroner has made legal history by ruling that air pollution was a cause of the death of a nine-year-old girl.’
The Guardian, 16th December 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A teenager stabbed their mother more than 100 times before dialling 999 and calmly telling police to “bring a body bag”, an inquest heard.’
The Guardian, 14th December 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Two recycling companies and two people linked to them are to be charged over the deaths of five African men who died when a concrete wall fell on them.’
BBC News, 1st December 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘An inquest is to consider evidence that illegal levels of air pollution caused the death of a nine-year-old girl, in a landmark legal case. A coroner will be asked to rule that toxic levels of nitrogen dioxide, from the South Circular road in south London, led to the acute asthma attack that killed the primary school pupil, Ella Kissi-Debrah. Her mother, Rosamund, a former teacher, has fought for years for an inquiry into the role of air pollution from traffic in Ella’s death.’
The Guardian, 30th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The police force investigating the Guildford pub bombs has been accused of a conflict of interest after it took legal action to keep archives closed. More than 700 files on the 1974 IRA bombs had been due to open this year but were retained by the Home Office. Inquest papers have shown Surrey Police applied for the files to stay closed.’
BBC news, 2nd December 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Although suicide was decriminalised more than 60 years ago, it was still always necessary to meet the criminal standard of proof when reaching a finding that someone had taken their own life. But this month, in a departure from this common understanding, the Supreme Court in R (Maughan) v HM Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46 found that the ‘degree of conclusivity’ required was, in fact, the civil standard – the balance of probabilities.’
Law Society's Gazette, 30th November 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘An inquest is to consider evidence that illegal levels of air pollution caused the death of a nine-year-old girl, in a landmark legal case.’
The Guardian, 30th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘He was 25, a father and a car mechanic. Five minutes after being stopped by police on 15 June 2017, he was lying unresponsive on the ground. After an inquest and inquiry, family and friends are still fighting for justice’
The Guardian, 29th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The family of a young man stabbed to death by a convicted terrorist are suing the government over alleged failures to manage the attacker in the community.’
The Guardian, 26th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The government has apologised for a “20-year cover-up” over the death of 11-month-old Elizabeth Dixon, whose parents have fought an unrelenting battle for the truth.’
The Guardian, 26th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Supreme Court has on 13 November 2020 handed down the judgment in this case concerning the appropriate standard of proof for conclusions at inquests.’
Park Square Barristers, 13th November 2020
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘The family of a woman who they suspect was killed is suing a health trust that allegedly stored her corpse incorrectly, allowing it to decompose to the point that experts were unable to rule out third-party involvement in her death, the Guardian can reveal.’
The Guardian, 23rd November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘By a majority of three to two, the Supreme Court has held that the standard of proof for findings of suicide and unlawful killing at an inquest is the balance of probabilities: R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020]
UKSC 46.’
Ropewalk Chambers, 16th November 2020
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘The Supreme Court has today lowered the standard of proof for all conclusions in inquest proceedings, including unlawful killing and suicide, in a decision that could have wide-reaching implications for the recording of deaths in England and Wales.’
Law Society's Gazette, 13th November 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Supreme Court has given judgment in R (on the application of Maughan) v HM Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire [2020] UKSC 46, a case dealing with the applicable standard of proof for reaching a narrative verdict of suicide or unlawful killing. A detailed case preview by my colleague Tim James-Matthews is available here, as a useful starting point for the issues arising in the appeal. By a 3-2 majority (with Lady Arden giving the leading judgment), the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the applicable standard of proof is the civil standard (i.e. the balance of probabilities). Lord Kerr gave the dissenting judgment, with which Lord Reed agreed: they would both have allowed the appeal.’
UKSC Blog, 16th November 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘By a majority the Supreme Court has dismissed this appeal concerning the standard of proof, or degree of conclusivity, required for the determination of the result of an inquest into a death where the question is whether the deceased committed suicide.’
UKSC Blog, 13th November 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘The Supreme Court has now issued its judgment in this important case for Coroners and inquests dealing with the standard of proof to be applied where the death might have been caused by suicide or unlawful killing.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 13th November 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘R (Peter Skelton and anr) v Senior Coroner for West Sussex [2020] EWHC 2813 (Adminn). Susan Nicholson and Caroline Devlin were killed by the same man during the course of abusive relationships. They died in 2011 and 2006, but the man was not convicted – of murder and manslaughter respectively – until 2017. The inquest into Susan’s death in 2011 resulted in a verdict of accidental death. Following the murder conviction, the Coroner applied to the High Court for this to be quashed, with the intention of holding a short inquest at which a fresh conclusion of “unlawful killing” would be recorded. However, the Claimants in this case – Susan’s parents – sought to expand the scope of the inquest to consider what they thought, understandably, were police failings. They were successful; this blog explains why, and examines the wider implications of the ruling.’
UK Human Rights Law Blog, 5th November 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
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