Legal Aid For The Bereaved
A Ruling This Thursday (Oct 25, 2007).
And another urgent issue for your MP.
You may remember how hard David Main had to fight for Legal Aid to have representation at the Inquest. (The application was made in the name of Toby, his 9 year old son). Legal Aid was granted so as not to delay the Inquest further with a ruling to be given at a later stage.
Other interested parties from various parts of the rail industry are represented by barristers and they can all give their opinion if invited to do so by the Coroner or ask questions of the witnesses. Because there are so many of them, they numerically far outweigh those speaking for the bereaved families. And of course there is no representation for the injured and other survivors.
How many bereaved people could do what Peter Webster has done and is doing without any legal training and financial assistance but still with his own grief and trauma? To present his case he has had to read and understand many technical documents, post-mortem accounts and statements, and then has to sit alongside well trained and paid advocates and perform to a professional standard.
If the ruling goes against victims who need legal aid to be represented, then the voice of the bereaved will be heard even less than it is at present.