The chief coroner has issued new guidance calling for greater consistency regarding press access at inquests across England and Wales.
Peter Thornton QC, left, has issued the guidance, which reminds coroners of journalists’ rights to attend courts and ask for access to court documents.
It follows a spate of incidents over recent years in which regional newspapers have been denied information by coroners, including one who refused to even name the person who had died.
The guidance reminds coroners of their responsibility to publish details of forthcoming inquests in advance of the hearing and also set out reasons why journalists may be refused access.
It reads: “The purpose of this guidance is to help coroners in all aspects of their work which concerns the media. It is intended to assist coroners on the law and procedures to be followed and with a view to providing greater consistency of approach across England and Wales.
“It is also hoped that the guidance will provide journalists with a clear understanding of the relevant law and procedure for their role in reporting cases in coroners’ courts.”
In March 2014, the Oxford Mail lanched a protest after Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter refused to reveal the name of a dead man into whom he conducted an inquest.
As a result, coroners were given fresh guidance on whether to withhold dead people’s identities.
Two months ago, the Society of Editors told Mr Thornton in a letter that the reluctance of coroners to provide information to the media was damaging police and media relations and causing declining standards of information being released to the public.
Kentish Gazette editor Leo Whitlock, who also lectures in journalism law and public affairs, said the new guidance should be “warmly welcomed”.
In an editorial, he wrote: “Coroners have been known not reveal full names in an effort to make hearings impossible to report. Under the guidance, journalists are able to tweet or live blog at hearings and can request access to documents. The coroner should approach such requests with open justice in mind.
“The chief coroner also advises the holders of one of the most ancient offices in English law to give journalists the opportunity to make representations when making decisions that affect our interests such as reporting restrictions.
“To see all of this in black and white is heartening even if it takes time to filter down and some coroners will do their very best to ignore it.
“By building a constructive relationship or constantly applying the pressure and holding coroners to this guidance, we can continue to serve our audiences and inform them of stories that are most definitely in the public interest.”
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Leo is right to raise this issue, as I know some newspapers do have trouble in obtaining the relevant information from Coroners. Leo and I had an email exchange this week, and he accepted that all Kent coroners (Leo’s patch) already follow the Chief Coroner’s guidance with regard to the information they are obliged to provide.
However, the real issue appears to be around the extra info which journalists would love to have but which Coroners are unable to provide.
I referred him to the final two paragraphs of the Chief Coroner’s guidance which states: “Coroners are judicial office holders and like other judges are not permitted to comment outside a courtroom on any of their cases (or indeed any other coroner’s cases) or discuss any decision they have made. All media queries relating to inquests should therefore be directed to the relevant local authority press office.”
That should hopefully save some journalists from getting frustrated when they do not obtain a response directly from the Coroner.
It is sometimes difficult explaining to a journalist that the information they desire is not available, but we do try to assist where possible.
Murray Evans, Senior Press Officer, Kent County Council.
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However, the real issue appears to be around the extra info which journalists would love to have but which Coroners are unable to provide
Could you be a bit more specific about what ‘extra info’ you mean Murray?
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Most frequently, reporters want information about a death before an inquest has even been scheduled. So it will be questions such as: has a post mortem been held? what was the result? do you have the precise time of death?
In a case last week – Max Spiers, a UFO investigator who was allegedly the victim of a conspiracy in Poland – questions included: was a post mortem held in Poland? and could I give a more precise address for him in Poland than, other than “the Jozefow area”.
As I said, we try to assist where possible, and we do ensure that our Coroners Officers provide the relevant information about forthcoming inquests on our website, but sometimes the information that would make a story really exciting cannot always be made available before the inquest, I’m afraid.
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I feel just an important issue is newspapers having enough reporters to attend inquests. a few years ago I saw reports regularly in my local paper. Haven’t seen one for ages.
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Our local coroner’s court holds hearings behind a locked door and doesn’t allow anybody in once the hearing has begun – a flagrant breach of this guidance.
The coroner also refuses to provide the addresses of the deceased and thus fails to properly identify them, creating potential for defamation actions and making it nearly impossible to report on the hearings.
We have made formal complaints to this effect but they are always ignored.
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How times have changed – and not for the better. I remember well the procedure at my local Coroner’s Court when a jury inquest was required. The Coroner’s Officer would give me a call asking me if I wished to be a member of the jury. Of course, I always accepted as I would be covering the inquest in any event. The advantages were that I was inevitably elected foreman, and also got to ask witnesses as many questions as I wished. Furthermore, I was able to press the point until I received the answers which would provide me with a better line. And, of course, there was always a reward of five bob (25p – a fair sum in those days) with which to buy the Coroner’s Officer a pint.
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I don’t know what TwisV means by “formal complaints”, but I strongly suggest he/she reports concerns to the Chief Coroner, as I am sure Leo Whitlock would agree.
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