Scouts face investigation after ‘killing boy on trip’
Police investigate after teenager died in 200ft fall when leaders failed to follow safety rules
A SCOUT leader is facing a police investigation after an inquest ruled a boy who died on a camping trip in Wales was unlawfully killed.
Ben Leonard, 16, suffered a serious head injury when he lost his footing and fell about 200ft at Great Orme in Llandudno, North Wales in 2018.
Ben and two friends took a different path from other Scouts, unsupervised by any leaders from the Reddish Explorer Scouts group from Stockport, Greater Manchester.
After a two-month inquest at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice, a jury found Ben was unlawfully killed by the most senior Scout leader on the trip, and an assistant Scout leader, and that this was contributed to by neglect by the Scout Association.
The law prevents inquest juries from naming any individual in conclusions.
During the inquest, the Scout leader on the trip, Sean Glaister, declined to answer a series of questions from Ben Richmond KC, lawyer for Fieldfisher, the law firm representing Ben’s family. Mary Carr was named as the assistant Scout leader on the trip.
David Pojur, the assistant coroner for North Wales east and central, has referred the Scout Association and an employee, who cannot be named by court order, to North Wales Police to investigate for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
At the beginning of the inquest, the third after two previous inquests were aborted, the Scout Association for the first time publicly apologised and accepted responsibility for Ben’s death.
But his mother, Jackie Leonard, told the hearing their apology was five and a half years too late and the treatment of her family had been “disgusting”. She added: “Like we didn’t matter and like Ben didn’t matter.”
An initial inquest into the death was held in February 2020 at Ruthin coroner’s court but the jury was discharged by Mr Pojur, who said the Scout Association had failed to provide the court with full information.
Jennie Price, chairman of the Scout Association Board of Trustees, said: “As an organisation we are committed to learning.
“The jury heard how in this instance the local leaders did not follow our safety rules and processes. As a result of Ben’s tragic death in 2018, we have already made many changes to our risk assessments.”
She added: “We emphatically refute allegations made in court about any criminal action on behalf of the Scout Association.”