Family storms out of inquest Windrush man died ‘in stress of bid to prove he was British’
A WINDRUSH migrant who died while trying to prove his British citizenship was “distressed” by the process and became a “shadow of himself”, his lawyer said yesterday.
Dexter Bristol, 57, collapsed in the street and died of heart failure after being caught up in the immigration scandal.
His immigration lawyer, Jacqueline McKenzie, claimed his battle to prove his right to be in the UK had taken a devastating toll on his health.
Mr Bristol was born in Grenada and came to the UK with his mother, a trained nurse and British citizen, in 1968 when he was eight.
Ms McKenzie said: “We saw at the outset a very robust person but distressed by the fact that he was having to prove his status in the country, even though he had been here since 1968.
“He was prepared to fight but, as the months went on and he was required to find more evidence, it became very difficult and we saw him just decline into a shadow of himself.”
Giving evidence at his inquest at St Pancras coroner’s court in central London, she said he had become increasingly stressed and worried.
She added: “I wrote to Dexter because he was so down and kept saying he was going to be kicked out of the country. [He said] ‘I don’t know Grenada, I don’t remember it and don’t want to go back there, my life is here’.”
The letter she wrote reassuring him that his case would be resolved was found unopened after his death, she said.
Mr Bristol’s family walked out of the inquest after a heated exchange between their lawyer and the coroner.
His relatives wanted to make submissions to the court about the possible role that Home Office policy played in his health. But coroner Dr William Dolman ruled that the Home Office should not be an interested party in the inquest because it was not relevant to the immediate circumstances of the death.
After unsuccessfully applying for an adjournment, Mr Bristol’s mother, Sentina Bristol, said the family was “disappointed” and “fighting for justice”.
Speaking after the hearing, she said: “We want justice, that’s what we’re fighting for – justice. That’s what I would like to see happen.”
Earlier, there were exchanges between Dr Dolman and the Bristol family’s lawyer Una Morris. Ms Morris repeatedly tried to make submissions to the court about the Home Office.
But Dr Dolman accused her of “trying to tell me how to run my court” and repeatedly ordered her to sit down.
He later apologised to Ms Morris and Mr Bristol’s family, saying: “I didn’t mean any discourtesy at all.”
Dr Dolman ultimately conducted the inquest without any of Mr Bristol’s relatives or their lawyers present and concluded that he died from natural causes – acute cardiac arrhythmia. He added: “I accept from the evidence that the deceased was suffering from a great deal of stress at the time.”
Mr Bristol, who lived in Camden, north London, died from acute heart failure on March 31.
He had reportedly not visited his GP for more than a year and it is said he believed he could not change surgeries unless he could prove his immigration status.
He was said to be unable to get a job and reportedly thought he was at risk of losing his home because he did not have documents proving his right to be in Britain. Dexter Bristol died at 57