Legal aid for inquests blocked over funding
GRIEVING families are refused legal aid for their loved ones’ inquests if they have already raised money through online appeals, internal Ministry of Justice emails have revealed.
The email trails highlight the controversy in funding with some officials admitting that the rules are a “burden” on those desperate to get to the truth of why their loved one lost their life.
In one, a senior official wrote: “There is a trend of crowdfunding now for some high-profile inquests – so if that happens we don’t fund.”
Many families have spoken of the difficulties of having to ask the public to help fund legal representation in a court that can be packed with highpowered lawyers representing the state and paid for out of taxpayers’ money.
The loved ones of those who died in the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings as well as the family of Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing disturbing material online, are among those who have had to crowdfund for representation.
In both cases some legal aid was granted on appeal.
Deborah Coles, the director of the charity Inquest, which secured the release of the emails through Freedom of Information requests, said: “Crowdfunding is a response to the desperate and uncertain position bereaved families are left in by the Legal Aid Agency and Ministry of Justice, not an alternative to a fair system.”
Although families can get some assistance in the preparation of an inquest, they can only get legal aid for representation in court in exceptional circumstances.
On the other hand, taxpayers’ money is available for lawyers representing public bodies such as the police or the NHS, which may have been accused of wrongdoing.
Inquest is currently campaigning for a change in the law to make it easier for bereaved families to receive automatic legal aid where the state has been involved, arguing that the current system created an “inequality of arms”.
The emails from late 2018 show civil servants discussing how to defend the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) position on a review into the rules.
The conclusion was published in February and refused to introduce non-means-tested aid in inquests where the state had representation.
The Ministry of Justice emails, seen by The Guardian, show that a LAA caseworker admitted the rules impose a “burden” on some bereaved individuals.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman insisted that there have been cases where legal aid had been granted. He said that the emails had been taken out of context.