Police demand legal fees from domestic violence campaigner

Telegraph

a day ago

A 'vindictive' police force is pursuing court costs from a woman who tried to win justice after alleging her niece had been a victim of domestic violence.
Teresa McMahon, an ITV journalist, was found dead in 2021 after reporting claims of domestic abuse.
Lorna McMahon, her aunt, believes that police did not adequately investigate the potential involvement of Robert Chalmers, Teresa's former partner.
After the police watchdog denied her request for her niece's death to be reinvestigated, Ms McMahon lost a legal action and was ordered to pay costs of £2,778.40 to Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
GMP has now decided to pursue those costs, despite a High Court judge urging it to think 'very carefully' about doing so.
In February, Ms McMahon applied for the costs order to be set aside or paused until all matters relating to the 'inadequate investigation' into Teresa's death had been concluded.
Judge Matthew Butt KC, sitting at the High Court in London, denied that request, ruling that he did not have the power to make such an order. But he questioned whether it was right for the costs to be enforced, given the tragic circumstances of the case.
In his ruling, the judge wrote: 'I would urge the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to consider very carefully whether, in all of the circumstances, it would be right to seek to enforce the costs order against Ms McMahon given the tragic death of her beloved niece, the recent death of Teresa's mother, Barbara, the health problems Ms McMahon suffers from, and her limited means.'
He said that he had been struck by the 'dedication, eloquence and determination' of Ms McMahon in trying to ensure that full details of her niece's death were disclosed and lessons learnt for the future.
The judge added: 'I have also read a letter to the claimant from Queen Camilla in which she expresses how she is full of admiration for her work.'
Following the ruling, the IOPC wrote to Ms McMahon to indicate it would not be seeking to enforce the payment of costs.
But GMP is pressing ahead with recovery of their costs from Ms McMahon, who has criticised the stance adopted by the force.
In a letter to GMP, seen by The Telegraph, Ms McMahon wrote: 'I find it absolutely vexatious and vindictive that GMP's police chief, Stephen Watson, appears to have singled me out when choosing to enforce this particular cost order, especially since Mr Justice Matthew Butt urged GMP not to pursue the cost order made against me considering all the circumstances.
'I also find it difficult to believe that out of all the outstanding cost orders GMP has managed to obtain against individuals over the years, it is only a grieving member of the public Mr Watson chooses to pursue.'
Found dead at her flat
Teresa, a 43-year-old Granada Reports news editor, was found dead at her flat in Little Hulton, Salford, on Aug 3 2021.
Last December, Mary Hassell, the senior coroner for Inner North London, concluded that she took her own life and that 'no other person forced her to do that'.
The inquest heard that in weeks before she died, Teresa was 'mistakenly' told by a GMP officer that she was not entitled to details of her former partner Robert Chalmers' alleged history of domestic abuse because she was not in a current relationship with him.
GMP subsequently tried to contact Teresa to tell her she might be entitled to the information under Clare's Law, but the inquest heard that there was no response to their calls. She had reported to GMP that she had had her fingers and potentially one of her ribs broken.
Mr Chalmers, who gave evidence by video link from Bolton after he was arrested for failing to appear at her inquest in London, accepted that the relationship had been volatile but denied either hurting her physically or trying to control her.
'Appalling crime'
Earlier that year, in September, Lorna McMahon had complained to GMP that their initial investigation had not adequately investigated the potential involvement of Mr Chalmers in her niece's death.
At her request, the IOPC conducted a review of GMP's investigation and found that her complaint had not been 'sufficiently' addressed and should be looked at again.
The reinvestigation identified some organisational failings and errors on the part of individual officers, but the overall conclusion was that the service was acceptable.
The Queen wrote to Ms McMahon last November, thanking her for her letter about the documentary Behind Closed Doors, which featured Queen Camilla.
She added: 'I was deeply touched by your kind words and very much hope that it has opened the eyes of many people who knew little about this appalling crime. Thank you for telling me about your own work to combat domestic abuse – I am full of admiration for you.'
A GMP spokesman said: 'Our thoughts remain with Mrs. McMahon after the tragic death of her niece and while officers worked tirelessly to provide her with answers, we recognise we weren't able to provide the closure she was seeking despite the thousands of hours spent reviewing complaints and opening new investigations.
'We always carefully consider the circumstances of individuals when seeking to recover costs lawfully ordered by the court. As a public body, the force must balance these considerations against its obligations to protect scarce public funds.'