Inquest verdict brings call to review charges

A YORKSHIRE MP has requested a review of prosecutions after a court delivered a verdict of unlawful killing in the case of a Hull man who died after being restrained face down at Manchester Victoria Station.

Jack Barnes, 29, died in 2016 after suffering a heart attack during the restraint, where he was held down by four men – working for an external company at the station as security.

Footage taken from body cameras showed that the men chased Mr Barnes for nine minutes through the station after an altercation. He was restrained face down and was heard saying he could not breathe seven times in the footage.

Mr Barnes suffered a heart attack, followed by a cardiac arrest and died in hospital seven weeks later. An inquest into his death last Friday, was told that restraint was continued for two minutes after Mr Barnes was last seen moving without any attempt at CPR. The inquest ruled Mr Barnes was unlawfully killed.

Having been approached by Mr Barnes’s family, Hull East MP Karl Turner has now written to the Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill, to request a review of prosecutions in light of the coroner’s findings. In the letter, Mr Turner said: “I am writing to you on behalf of my constituents, the family of Mr Jack Barnes, regarding Manchester Coroner’s Court’s recent ruling that he was unlawfully killed in 2016.

“I understand that to date, no prosecutions have been brought in relation to this case. Mr Barnes’s family members and I would be grateful if you would review that decision, in light of the ruling by HM Senior Coroner Mr Nigel Meadows and his comments regarding the ‘grossly excessive’ and ‘unreasonable’ use of force against Mr Barnes.”