Hundred Court Chambers Inquests and Inquiries Group

Head of Group: Tim Holloway
Deputy Heads of Group: Ana Samuel and Lujzka Halsall-Fischel
Pupils Liaison Lead: Darren O'Keeffe

On 16 March 2023, Hundred Court Chambers Inquests and Inquiries Group held its inaugural meeting. The formation of the Group reflects the breadth and depth of experience of members of Hundred Court Chambers in inquisitorial proceedings and builds on the legacy of its members’ work in these areas.

The Group has 23 barrister members and 4 pupil barrister members.

Three Members of the Group sit as Assistant Coroners over four coroner areas. A former member of Atlantic Chambers, which merged with Oriel Chambers to form Hundred Court Chambers in 2025, was appointed Area Coroner for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough in 2024.

Four members of the Group are Counsel appointed to the Attorney General’s Civil Panel of Counsel to the Crown and, between them, have undertaken a considerable amount of inquest work for central Government Departments and agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice (both qua Prison Service and Probation Service) and Department for Work and Pensions, with one member having been appointed as one of the ‘A Panel’ lead Counsel for the Cabinet Office in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and a further member having been instructed recently by the Attorney General of St Helena, South Atlantic, to represent the Directorate for Health and Social Care of the St Helena Government.

Members of the Group have very substantial inquest experience in representing bereaved families, Central Government, police forces and Chief Constables, NHS Trusts, Health Boards (Wales), the Royal College of Nursing, clinicians, regulatory bodies, insurers, employees and others. A number of members have practices in clinical negligence and police cases and bring that experience and perspective to the Group. Where applicable, inquisitorial work is undertaken in parallel with work in other jurisdictions and areas, including civil, public law and regulatory.

Relevant inquest experience within the Group’s membership encompasses:

• Article 2 inquests and non-article 2 inquests
• Jury and Coroner inquests
• Medical, prison, probation and police inquests
• Inquests pertaining to unlawful killing, drug related deaths, deaths occasioned by accident and misadventure, suicide and natural causes.
• Inquests concerned with both systemic and operational failings of State entities
• Complex medical inquests
• Acting on behalf of bereaved families
• Acting on behalf of central Government Departments and agencies
• Acting on behalf of Police forces / Chief Constables
• Acting on behalf of health bodies and clinicians
• Acting on behalf of insurers.

The Group covers inquests and inquiries nationally and work is undertaken in matters in which Leading Counsel are instructed for interested persons (inquests) and core participants (inquiries).

The Group will provide a high quality and cohesive service to professional and lay clients, providing specialist services from individual members and the flexibility to provide advocacy, advisory and drafting services from members and second six pupils jointly where required.

In order to maintain and enhance their knowledge base, members of the Group are expected to incorporate inquests and inquiry training within their continuing professional development, including internal training. One member of the Group is currently studying for an LLM in Coronial Law. The Group is able to provide external seminars, conferences and mock inquest training.

The work of the Group is reflected in the Group’s purposes, which include the maintenance and enhancement of the provision of Chambers’ services in inquest and inquiry work, the encouragement of the maintenance of standards in inquest and inquiry work, including standards in advocacy in inquisitorial proceedings, the encouragement of diverse participation in inquest and inquiry work and the provision of education in inquest and inquiry work both internally and for external legal practitioners.

Individual Group members are members of the following as applicable:

• The Coroners’ Society of England and Wales
• The North West and North Wales Coroners’Society
• Professional Negligence Bar Association
• Personal Injury Bar Association
• Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
• Examples of significant cases and of the range of matters undertaken by members of the Group include:
• The UK Covid-19 Inquiry Modules 1 (Resilience and Preparedness), 2 (Core UK Decision Making and Political Governance) and 5 (Procurement).  Official site for the Inquiry: About - UK Covid-19 Inquiry
• St Helena Inquest. Article link: Hundred Court Chambers
• Inquest touching the death of KateStanton-Davies (representing the family of Kate Stanton-Davies), which revealed the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust maternity scandal and effectively led to the Ockenden Maternity Review BBC link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20239961 Official site for the Review: This is the official website for the independent review of maternity services at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Ockenden Maternity Review
• R (Ferguson) v HM Assistant Coroner forSefton, Knowsley & St Helens and the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police[2025] EWHC 1901 (Admin) 23 July 2025: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2025/1901.html
• Inquest touching the death of LucyHarrison. BBC link: British Woman shotby dad in Texas after 'arguing about Donald Trump' - BBC News
• Inquest touching the death of Janet Williams. Wales Online link: Family'devastated' after inquest finds hospital issues did not contribute to 'loving,vibrant' woman's death - Wales Online
• Inquest touching the death of Kevin Delahunty. BBC link: HMP Risley: Prisoner died in fire after smoking spice - BBC News
• Inquest touching the death of Laura Winham. BBC link: LauraWinham: Family will 'never forget' finding body after years - BBC News
• Inquest touching the death of Sean Higgins. Sean Higgins: Prevention of Future Deaths Report - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
• Inquest touching upon the death of RogerLeadbeater. Guardian link: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/08/roger-leadbeater-family-seek-answers-over-sheffield-park-killing
• Inquest touching upon the death of Benjamin Connor. BBC link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-59818567
• Inquest touching upon the death of Alan Hunt. Liverpool Echo link: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/ruling-made-over-death-dad-33376438
• Inquest touching upon the death of Ava Hodgkinson: 'Beautiful' girl, 2, died day after parents took her to GP with chesty cough - Liverpool Echo
• Inquest touching upon the death of Anthony Paine: Man set to be released from prison in two weeks took his own life in cell - Liverpool Echo
• Inquest touching upon the death of Xena Georgiou: Police asked to see her insurance, then 'nothing could be done' to save her - Manchester Evening News
• Inquest touching upon the death of Danielle Haggerty: She died after being left alone in a flat, now her family want change - Manchester Evening News
• Inquest touching upon the death of Alan Johnstone: Sex offender who died in HMP Liverpool cell found next to note alleging officer didn't help him, inquest hears - Liverpool Echo

Thereis a considerable need for representation at inquests and at an increasingnumber of statutory and non-statutory inquiries.

If you wish to discussthe instruction of any member of the Group, please contact Chambers’ clerks at clerks@hundredcourt.co.uk

Tim Holloway
Head of Group