London boroughs lose challenge over coroner holding night-time hearings

Six London boroughs have unsuccessfully asked the High Court to ensure that a coroner is disciplined for holding sittings at night.

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham brought the case as the lead authority over West London senior coroner Chinyere Inyama having staged around 80 hearing in the evening, sometimes past 11pm. The councils said he should be probed by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO).

The JCIO declined to intervene saying the matter did not concern the coroner’s conduct.

Soole J though said the JCIO was correct and either the councils or parties to the cases should seek judicial review of the coroner’s decision each time a hearing occurred outside normal working hours.

A Hammersmith & Fulham spokesman said: “We felt his method of working was causing distress to bereaved families and asked the JCIO to act but they said they had no power to investigate and it is not clear who does.

“The judge has now said the councils or persons concerned should take judicial review and we are considering what to do.”

The other councils involved are: Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston-upon-Thames and Richmond-upon-Thames.

Mark Smulian