Lady Justice Hallett to act as coroner for the inquests into the deaths arising from the London bombings on 7 July 2005

Lady Justice Hallett has been appointed by the Coroner for the Inner West London District of Greater London (Westminster) Jurisdiction to be an Assistant Deputy Coroner for the purposes of conducting the inquests into the deaths of those killed in the London bombings on 7 July 2005.

Dame Heather Hallett hopes that she will be in a position to hold a pre-inquest hearing in the early part of 2010 at which Properly Interested Persons will be in a position to make submissions on whether there is sufficient scope to resume the inquests and, if so, to set their scope.

The London bombings on 7 July 2005 occurred in three Coroners’ Districts – City of London, Inner West London (Westminster) and Inner North London (Camden).

Rather than holding three separate sets of inquests, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has directed that the inquests be held under the jurisdiction of Inner West London (Westminster); has nominated Lady Justice Hallett to be appointed as the Assistant Deputy Coroner; and agreed that Central Government would assist with funding the costs of the inquests.

Notes for Editors

1. Lady Justice Hallett was called to the Bar in 1972, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1989. She was appointed as a Recorder 1989-99 and a Deputy High Court Judge 1995-99. She was Chairman of the Bar Council in 1998. In 1999 Dame Heather was appointed as a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division. She was Presiding Judge for the Western Circuit 2001-04, and a member of the Judicial Studies Board 2000-05. In 2005 she was appointed to the Court of Appeal. Since 2006 she has been a Commissioner on the Judicial Appointments Commission and in 2007 she became Vice-Chairman.

2. For a photograph of Lady Justice Hallett see link below

3. Lady Justice Hallett will not be doing any media interviews regarding her appointment as Assistant Deputy Coroner or in relation to the inquests.

4. Previous appointments of serving and retired judges as assistant deputy coroners include - Lord Justice Scott Baker to conduct the inquests into the deaths of Princess Diana and Mr Dodi Al Fayed; Sir Michael Wright as coroner to conduct the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, and most recently, the appointment of Sir Thayne Forbes to conduct the inquests of those who died in Lakanal House, Camberwell. Like these appointees, Lady Justice Hallett will not have any more powers than a coroner when conducting the inquests.

5. Some factual notes on the inquest process are set out below.

The Inquest Process

• an inquest is a fact-finding inquiry into a violent or unnatural death, sudden death of unknown cause, or death which has occurred in prison to establish who has died, and how, when and where the death occurred. In cases where Article 2 of the CHR is engaged, the inquest scope is extended to investigate the broader circumstances in which the death occurred

• the inquest is conducted by a coroner, and s/he hears evidence relating to the body and the circumstances of the death of a deceased person

• section 16 of the Coroners Act 1988 states that a coroner shall adjourn an inquest until the conclusion of any relevant criminal proceedings

• for the 7th July 2005 Inquests, evidence of identity and the causes of death have already been taken and the deaths have been registered. The Inquests were adjourned at the request of the DPP until the end of the trials of the men charged with conspiring to cause explosions with the 7th July 2005 bombers

• the inquest is a form of public inquiry to determine the truth. It is not a trial so there is no prosecution or defence case in an inquest, simply a search for the truth. If Lady justice Hallett decides there is sufficient cause to resume the Inquests, she will then decide the proper scope of them and the extent to which it is appropriate to inquire into the broader factual circumstances. Properly interested persons are entitled to be represented, make submissions and ask relevant questions of witnesses, subject to the scope set

• the inquest verdict does not allow for expressions of opinion or determine matters of criminal liability by a named person or civil liability

• section 8(3) of the Coroners Act sets out the circumstances in which an inquest must be held with a jury.

Ends