Acclaimed barrister will assist at Keyham inquests
ASPECIALIST barrister who has experience assisting with complex and controversial inquests – such as the deaths of soldiers at Deepcut Barracks, murders by terrorists and a death during police restraint – has been brought in to assist with the inquests of the five Keyham shooting victims.
Bridget Dolan, King’s Counsel, has been appointed as counsel to Plymouth’s senior coroner Ian Arrow in light of the large number of individuals, agencies, organisations and statutory bodies which will all be taking part in the five-week Keyham inquest.
The inquests into the deaths of Stephen Washington, Sophie and Lee Martyn, Maxine Davison and Kate Shepherd have been separated from the inquest into 22-year-old gunman Jake Davison. Both sets of inquests will be held at Exeter Racecourse next year, beginning on January 17.
At the latest pre-inquest review which was held in Plymouth last week, Ms Dolan sat alongside Mr Arrow for the first time and assisted him with parts of the hearing.
A report from her legal chambers, Serjeants’ Inn, states: “Bridget is regularly instructed in inquests and inquiries of the greatest complexity and sensitivity acting for bereaved families, individual interested persons and for public or corporate bodies.
Her experience includes countless lengthy ‘Article 2’ inquests following deaths in prison, after police contact or in psychiatric detention. She is particularly sought after when public bodies are facing difficult and searching inquiries.”
The report goes on to state that Ms Dolan has “considerable experience of acting as counsel to the judge or coroner in extremely high media profile inquiries”.
These include “seven British inquests that followed the murders of 40 men by Al-Quaeda linked terrorists at the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria – a role which earned her The Lawyer ‘Barrister of the Year’ award in 2015”.
In addition, the Serjeants’ Inn website states she was “also counsel to the judge hearing each of the three fresh inquests into the deaths of young Army recruits at Deepcut Barracks. In the past year Bridget has been instructed by five different senior coroners as their ‘counsel to the inquest’ in cases as varied as the ‘Shoreham aircrash’ inquests, the six inquests arising from the 2021 ‘Keyham shootings’, two inquests into deaths during an Army selection exercise, a death on a ‘smart motorway’ and a death during police restraint”.
Ms Dolan is described as having a “particular insight” into how to approach challenging cases as she also sits part-time as an assistant coroner. In addition, Ms Dolan was a forensic and academic psychologist for 13 years before she was called to the bar and has a specialist expertise in cases at the interface of law and mental health.
Many have highlighted her skills and expertise over the years, with one legal directory review noting her “consummate knowledge of the law, tactical excellence and exceptional humanity in dealing with people who are coming to terms with a difficult process” while others have praised her for being “very knowledgeable on the practical side of inquests and knows how coroners think”.
Partner agencies have set up a website, Plymouth Together, providing details on the support and help available, along with information on the Community Hub, fundraising and latest events in the area, as well as the action plan for the area’s recovery. For more information, visit plymouthtogether.co.uk