No exclusion of bereaved families from 7/7 inquest

The Divisional Court has refused the Government's application for judicial review of the 7/7 Coroner's decision not to exclude victims' families from the court during its private sessions.

Coroners' courts normally sit in public.  However, Rule 17 of the Coroners Rules 1984 allows an inquest to be heard in private where it is in the interests of national security to do so.   In this case, officers from MI5 requested that they should be permitted to give their evidence in private.  The Coroner agreed but decided that an order excluding "the public" from the hearing should not extend to interested parties such as the bereaved families of the victims of the terrorist attacks.

The Home Secretary has confirmed that the Divisional Court's decision will not be appealed.

See further chapter 10 of the Privacy Law Handbook