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Legal aid should be extended to all families of those bereaved by work

Commenting on the 25 July 2016  Guardian interview with the soon to step down chief coroner Peter Thornton QC, Hazards Campaign spokesperson Hilda Palmer said:

“The Hazards Campaign and FACK have long called for ‘equality of arms’ for all families of those killed by work.

“While we welcome what the Chief Coroner says, we want the right to legal aid to ensure representation at inquests to be the right of all families of those killed by work, whether or not any arm/emanation  of the state is directly involved. Otherwise more injustice, unfairness  is created.

“Families up against the companies who killed their family members need to be legally represented but frequently are not. This means there is inadequate examination of the issues, the failings of the companies themselves, and of the state regulatory/enforcement system that is intended to keep work safe, hold employers to account and contribute to preventing future deaths.”

See: Chief coroner calls for legal aid provision in state-involved inquests, The Guardian, 25 July 2016