Chief coroner calls for inquiry into Manchester synagogue attack
The chief coroner for England and Wales is recommending a public inquiry into a fatal synagogue attack in Manchester to allow for the handling of sensitive MI5 intelligence. Current inquest procedures cannot accommodate the private hearings required to discuss national security evidence.
Why it matters
The case highlights the tension between the need for transparency in judicial proceedings and the protection of national security information.
Image source, PA images Image caption, Members of the Jewish community comforted each other after two people were killed in the attack
The chief coroner overseeing inquests into the deaths of two men killed in the attack on a Manchester synagogue is to ask the government to hold a public inquiry instead.
Judge Alexia Durran, chief coroner of England and Wales, said she would write to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to recommend the inquests be converted into a public inquiry after being told some MI5 material could not be heard in open court because of national security concerns.
Inquests were planned into the deaths of Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, following the attack by Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, a Syrian-born British citizen, on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester last October.
Inquests have no mechanism to hold secret or private hearings, excluding press and public.
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