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Public Inquiries are major investigations into matters deemed to be of public concern. Created under the Inquiries Act 2005, they have become a significant part of the UK’s democratic process. The events that public inquiries have been set up to consider have been wide-ranging, including in relation to healthcare, transport, deaths by police shooting, and the media.
Although public inquiries are set up by a government minister and funded by that minister’s department, they are independent. They are led by a chairperson, usually a member of the judiciary, and may or may not have panel members. They will have Terms of Reference, which set out the issues which need to be inquired into, and the type of information which is sought to be received by the minister at the conclusion of the inquiry. They will often include seeking recommendations for the future.
Hickman & Rose have acted for numerous clients with direct, significant involvement in some of the most prominent public inquiries of the past decade.
Every Public Inquiry has its own purpose, as defined by its Terms of Reference. However they usually address the following fundamental questions:
The Chair of any Public Inquiry can designate certain individuals or institutions as ‘Core Participants’. Core Participants are people or organisations deemed to have played a direct and significant role in the matters under investigation.
Anyone designated as a Core Participant has the opportunity to shape the way an inquiry is conducted. Core Participants can, for example, make submissions directly to an inquiry’s chair or panel. Core Participants are usually also able to access the underlying evidence provided to the inquiry.
While some individuals and organisations will have a straightforward and obvious claim to be a Core Participant, this is not always the case. Being designated as a Core Participant to an inquiry may be a challenge requiring expert legal advice.
Public inquiries are created under the Inquiries Act 2005. This Act provides the Chair with the ability to take evidence on oath (section 17) and to require the production of evidence (section 21).
The Act gives the Chair the power, where they consider it appropriate, to award amounts in respect of legal representation (section 40(2)). It also shortens the time for applying for judicial review of a decision made by the minister in relation to the inquiry, or by a member of the inquiry panel.
The Inquiry Rules 2006 set out the rules by which the inquiry will operate, including allowing the core participant or, if they are legally represented, their recognised legal representative, to make opening and closing statements to the inquiry panel (Rule 11).
Since the introduction of the Inquiries Act a number of public inquiries have been established in place of inquests.
This can happen when evidence that would be submitted to an inquest is considered subject to ‘Public Interest Immunity’ i.e. that there is evidence that disclosure would be against the public or national interest.
If this is the case – and it is concluded that a coroner cannot carry out a proper investigation without considering this evidence – the Lord Chancellor may be asked to convert the inquest into a Public Inquiry so that all relevant evidence can be heard. The Azelle Rodney Inquiry and the Anthony Grainger Inquiry are examples of a public inquiry replacing an inquest.
In addition to inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2005, it is possible for other, independently created inquiries to be set up to examine particular matters of concern. Examples of such inquires include the Ministry of Justice commissioned ‘Mr North’ independent Article 3 inquiry, and the independent inquiry into the collapse of the trial of 14 South Wales Police officers (the Lynette White case).
Hickman & Rose are inquiry law experts. The firm has acted across a broad range of statutory and ad hoc public inquiries, including some of the most significant ever held. Our expert lawyers have the expertise and experience to guide clients through each stage of the process, including having extensive experience in assisting clients seeking to be designated as Core Participants to a public inquiry
We act for multiple core participants in both the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and the Undercover Policing Inquiry. We represented the mother of Azelle Rodney, who was shot dead in April 2005 by the Metropolitan Police, in the first inquest to be converted into a Public Inquiry. We have also acted for clients in the independent ‘Mr North’ and Lynette White inquiries.
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