Ministers urged to 'come clean' over Sheku Bayoh inquiry

The Herald Scotland

24-05-2025

His appointment will see costs spiral further, with taxpayers already facing a bill of more than £23million for the long-running inquiry.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: 'Huge amounts of taxpayers' money have already been spent on this inquiry and this latest appointment will clearly add further expense.
'Given the extreme pressures on public finances the SNP need to come clean about what is truly happening with the Sheku Bayoh inquiry and guarantee answers will be delivered for all involved.'
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Mr Beer's fee has not been disclosed.
The inquiry is examining the circumstances surrounding Mr Bayoh's death in Fife in 2015 - and whether race was a factor.
The 31-year-old died after being restrained by police officers in Kirkcaldy.
The inquiry was plunged into turmoil last month after the Scottish Police Federation questioned the chairman's impartiality. Lord Bracadale is now considering his role after it emerged he had five meetings with Mr Bayoh's grieving family.
Jason Beer KC has been hired by the Sheku Bayoh inquiry (Image: Jordan Pettitt) Mr Beer has worked on the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, the inquiry into Lucy Letby, the nurse convicted of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of seven other infants, as well as those into the Grenfell disaster in London and the death of Dawn Sturgess in Salisbury.
He is to lead the work on the procedural hearing on June 12 and 13 which will examine whether Lord Bracadale's conduct during the inquiry has been fair.
Mr Beer joins Angela Grahame KC and Laura Thomson KC as senior counsel.
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) last month intimated a petition for a judicial review of the inquiry after announcing it had "lost confidence" in the proceedings.
It is understood that Lord Bracadale, who has helmed the inquiry since 2020, will consider whether he should step down from the role in the aftermath of the hearing. Should he do so, it would result in significant delays to the inquiry's work.
Since the statutory inquiry began in November 2020, it has cost more than £23.7 million. The inquiry has completed the process of gathering evidence and was due to hear closing submissions.
After the concerns surrounding Lord Bracadale were first raised, Sadif Ashraf, the solicitor to the inquiry, wrote to all parties in March, pointing out the engagement of families was "crucial to the effectiveness" of the inquiry. He stressed that if the inquiry failed to obtain and retain the confidence of the families, its effectiveness would be prejudiced.
Mr Ashraf said since the start of the inquiry's work, Lord Bracadale had publicly expressed his intention to keep the families "at the heart" of the inquiry, and considered it "reasonable and appropriate" to meet members of the Bayoh families "from time to time" to reassure them, maintain their confidence in its work, and encourage them to participate fully.
The first meeting took place in November 2021, followed by further meetings in April and November 2022, and January and December last year. Mr Ashraf's letter noted the purpose of the meetings was "to address issues relating to the welfare of family members as the inquiry progressed", and its impact on them.
"The chair made it clear that anything of an evidential nature would require to be examined in evidence in the inquiry," Mr Ashraf said.
Chairs of other public inquiries have previously met bereaved families including those affected by the Covid pandemic in Scotland and the Grenfell fire.
But David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, said last month: "These unusual developments have left many core participants feeling that the process no longer appears transparent and open, with all core participants having been treated equally."
Earlier this week it was revealed that the cost of public inquiries in Scotland since 2007 had risen to £230m.
The figures, collated by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, found the costs of the Eljamel Inquiry had already grown to £1m, despite not having taken evidence yet.
Some £666,949 of this was spent on staff, while £316,035 was spent on external legal costs.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which was announced in 2014 to investigate the abuse of children in care, remains the most expensive in the country, with a current cost of £95.3m.
The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, which is examining the Government's response to the pandemic, was announced in 202l and has already cost £34m.
The costs of the ongoing Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which is examining issues with the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, announced in 2019, have risen to £23.6m.
The completed Edinburgh Trams Inquiry cost £13.1m.
The figures were published as Holyrood's finance committee investigates the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries.
MSPs will probe the role of legal firms and whether they have a vested interest in inquiries running on for years past their original finish date.
A spokeswoman for the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry said: 'The Scottish Police Federation has raised concerns about Lord Bracadale meeting with the families of Mr Bayoh. Loss of confidence by a core participant in the fairness of the conduct and procedure of the Inquiry by Lord Bracadale is a matter of concern.
'The Inquiry will hold a public hearing in June on the fairness of the conduct and procedure adopted by Lord Bracadale in meeting with the families. Submissions are invited from all core participants.'
'The Inquiry is delighted to welcome Jason Beer KC to the team. Mr Beer has a wealth of valuable experience across public inquiries and we look forward to working with him in the weeks to come.'
The Scottish Government was approached for comment.