Coroners and Justice Bill finally reaches House of Lords

After a lightening trip through the House of Commons then the disappointment of postponement due to Lord Mandelson's Post Office Bill, the Coroners and Justice Bill was finally debated for the first time in the House of Lords on 18 May.

During the second reading debate, where peers discussed the general principles of the Bill, the issue of extending legal aid for bereaved people was raised by peers on all sides of the House, before the Bill passed second reading without a vote.

Since then APIL has been working with key peers to table a formal amendment on this issue and has been thanked, on the floor of the House, by Lord Thomas of Gresford, for the information the association has provided. Lord Alton of Liverpool also quoted from an article from The Times, in which APIL president John McQuater expressed his 'extreme disappointment' that ministers had not accepted amendments on legal aid in the Commons.

Committee stage in the House of Lords takes a different approach from the Commons, with amendments often tabled to initiate debate with the Government on an issue, with more detailed amendments tabled for report stage. Even so, a number of peers spoke about the need for more bereaved families to obtain legal aid, although some were unsure about the approach of making it available as a matter of course.

Lord Pannick, a cross bench peer and high profile human rights lawyer, said that he sympathised with the need for legal aid, and called on the Government to make legal aid available 'where an inquest raises difficult questions of fact or law involving the possibility of state responsibility'. Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, with whom APIL met prior to committee stage, said she supported 'the intentions behind the amendment', and recognised that there was a need for bereaved families to be represented when the state is represented. Baroness Butler-Sloss said that although she would support an increased legal aid budget for inquests, she appreciated that the legal aid budget was under considerable strain.

Responding for the Government, Lord Bach said that he thought the most sensible way forward was to review the situation in light of proposed changes to the system. He said he did not support legal aid being granted as a matter of course, but conceded that if he had a 'bottomless pit of money' he would like to 'extend legal aid in many cases.'

Lord Thomas concluded by withdrawing the amendment and promising to come back to the issue at report stage. APIL will continue to work with him in the meantime. Lord Bach has agreed to meet us to discuss these issues.

Story from: APIL Connect

On the 6 July, Jacqui Smoker of Bond Pearce LLP, will attend an inquest in Exeter with her client, whose son who was sadly killed in Afghanistan by an explosion whilst he was in a WMIK landrover. His death raises a number of issues concerning the safety of these vehicles and of the MOD's use of their own mine clearance drills.

It is important for the family to establish what happened, and see if there are lessons to be learned from the death to prevent others occurring.

Bond Pearce are doing this for free and have have secured the assistance of a barrister, Harriet Jerram on similar terms, to try to get the family the answers they seek.

This is because families are not entitled as of right to legal help in the case of an inquest. If they cannot persuade the public funding office that the case is exceptional and meet strict financial criteria, then they face the prospect of attending an inquest completely alone. In instances such as this, the MOD will however, put forward a strong legal team. It is a case where the interested parties to an inquest are certainly not on the same playing field.

Bond Pearce support APILs campaign that the Coroners Bill should make provision for public funding to be available to families at inquests what ever the circumstances.

Bond Pearce also recognises the tireless work the royal British legion put into supporting the families of servicemen killed in action, often being the only support these families receive through this process.

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