The coroner called Dr John O’Connell to the stand after the mid morning break and he swore an oath. The coroner asked him to explain who he was and his qualifications. He told the court he was a consultant paediatrician. He had started as a general paediatrician, had worked for the NHS most of his […]
The court heard from four witnesses in person on Day 1 of Mia’s inquest, on Tuesday 30 July. The first witness was Lou Richer. She told the court that she is the Head of Children’s Specialist Safeguarding for Bracknell Forest Council and that she’d worked in the Specialist Support Service for 10.5 years and known […]
I’ve been reporting from coroner’s courts for almost a decade now, and it is very rare to see more than a couple of journalists in attendance. Walking into Surrey Coroner’s Court yesterday there were lots of people, including numerous members of the media. However, when I was asked to sign the media list, I was […]
Yesterday I was at Surrey Coroner’s Court for the first day of Mia’s inquest. Mia was 16 when she died, last September, at the Children’s Trust in Tadworth. I will report the evidence we heard in court once the inquest concludes this afternoon, but for now am sharing the pen portrait that her sister, Paige, […]
Three months ago the Senior Coroner for Buckinghamshire, Crispin Butler, concluded the inquest into the death of Fern Foster (almost concluded, at that point he was still to make a ruling on Prevention of Future Death matters**). You can find links to read my introduction to Fern, my coverage of her inquest and the coroner’s […]
Earlier today I published a blog post I wrote trying to capture the experience of attending Laughing Boy, without giving away too many spoilers. This post does not have that luxury because I want to talk about the wider context of Connor’s death, and JusticeforLB’s campaign for justice that followed it. The horror of what […]
What a month. In April I attempted something I’d not done before, reporting on two inquests simultaneously, the inquests of Fern Foster and Marcus Hanlin (you can click on their names to read all my coverage). Fern was a young mother, 22, who ended her life when learning the news that Buckinghamshire Council were moving […]
Marcus was a very dearly loved family member and loving man. Ineffective management at Brandon Trust meant that care was not provided as it should have been, and as a result, he lost his life. His death was completely avoidable. While we acknowledge the necessary changes by the Brandon Trust following Marcus’ death, we only […]
The Brandon Trust acknowledges that a mistake was made on the day that Marcus consumed the contents of the sensory activity. The Brandon Trust has apologised, and continues to apologise, to Marcus’ family for the mistake. The Brandon Trust acknowledges the coroner’s conclusion that Marcus’s death was contributed to by neglect. Since Marcus’s death, the […]
The Senior Coroner for Avon, Maria Voisin, returned to court this afternoon, on Day 6 of Marcus Hanlin’s inquest, to give her summing up and conclusion. She said that she was aware that people would be trying to take a note and that she would try and go slowly [even with this I still could […]