Sheku Bayoh Inquiry to consider application for recusal of chairman
Sheku Bayoh, 31, a father-of-two, died after he was restrained by around six police officers who were called to Hayfield Road in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on May 3, 2015.
The Crown Office decided not to take legal action against the police involved following an investigation, but the circumstances are being examined at the inquiry.
The procedural hearing on Thursday and Friday was ordered by chairman Lord Bracadale to consider an application for his own recusal. It will take place at Capital House in Edinburgh.
It comes after Lord Bracadale revealed he has met with the family of Mr Bayoh on at least five occasions since the inquiry began.
The family's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, suggested the procedural hearing alone could 'cost the public purse in excess of £1 million'.
The hearing follows an application for recusal of the chairman and an assessor on behalf of the Scottish Police Federation, Pc Craig Walker and Nicole Short.
Recusal is the legal process by which a judge or other adjudicator steps aside from participating in a case due to potential bias, conflict of interest, or lack of impartiality.
Mr Anwar said on behalf of the family: 'The procedural hearing follows an application for recusal of the chair and an assessor on behalf of the Scottish Police Federation, Pc Craig Walker and Nicole Short.
'The hearing will focus on the fairness of the conduct and procedure adopted by the chair in meeting the families of Sheku Bayoh.
'For the record, it is Lord Bracadale who has ordered this hearing. The inquiry will hear oral submissions from core participants.
'All core participants must publicly state their position as to whether they wish the chair to step down – it will be noted by the family as to what position all the public bodies such as Crown Office and the chief constable will adopt, as they have made a great deal over the years about being fully supportive of the public inquiry.
'The Bayoh family believe the federation and those hanging on to their coat-tails do so at the 11th hour, in a pathetic and desperate attempt to sabotage the inquiry.
'The family have watched so many parties who have literally sat on their hands for over 122 days of evidence, never publicly asking a question at a huge legal cost of £20 million to the public, yet this hearing in terms of police lawyers could cost the public in excess of £1 million.'
He said the family are 'not giving up' and that 10 years on from Mr Bayoh's death they will 'once more call-out the dangerous arrogance of a criminal justice system that does not like accountability'.
The Scottish Police Federation, Crown Office and Police Scotland have been asked for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Missing Texas woman found living among lost ‘African' tribe in Scotland
A Texas woman reported missing by her family has been found living among a lost 'African' tribe in a Scottish forest. Texas native Kaura Taylor has been found with the Kingdom of Kubala, a group living in a forest in Jedburgh, about 41 miles south of Edinburgh, that is trying to reclaim land stolen from their ancestors, UK-based media group SWNS reported. The group is led by King Atehene, 36, who was once an opera singer under the name Kofi Offeh, his wife, Queen Nandi, and their handmaiden Taylor, who now goes by Asnat, according to the outlet. 'To the U.K. authorities, obviously I am not missing,' she said in a video message from the group. 'Leave me alone. I am an adult, not a helpless child.' It's unclear when Taylor was reported missing or why her family was unaware of her location. The group said they've been served eviction notices and been targeted in an attack that involved someone setting one of their tents on fire. While they 'don't recognize local laws,' they say they only follow the rules of their God, who is named Yahowah, according to the outlet. 'We live a very simple life of returning to innocence,' King Atehene told the outlet. 'We connect to nature. We connect to the trees around us. We get grounded every morning. We bathe in the springwater. We are living a simple life of relying daily on the creator for food, shelter and clothing. We live in a tent without walls, but we are not afraid of anyone, for we have the protection of the creator, Yahowah.' According to King Atehene, Great Britain says it is tolerant — but not toward his group, which has 'suffered trials and tribulations at the hands of authorities, who do not understand or tolerate,' he told the outlet. The Kingdom of Kubala claims they are a lost tribe of Hebrews, and that their King descended from David the Messiah, according to the outlet. They say their ancestors were ostracized when Queen Elizabeth I deported native black Jacobites. The group now hopes to bring other 'lost tribes' back after 400 years, according to the report. 'We follow the laws of the creator, everything belongs to the ones who made it,' King Atehene added. 'We do not believe that any authority owns the land. The earth belongs to the father. We do not know about any eviction. All we know is that we are here to stay and establish our authority and power, just like our ancestors did.' He continued: 'The prophecy said, 'after 400 years, when my ancestors are destroyed from the land of Scotland, from the land of Great Britain, they will go into captivity and lose their identity.'' 'But after 400 years, I will come and bring them back to the land of promise. I am following the ancestral call and the call of the gods. The calling from our creator to embark on this journey, is the most important thing in our life. It is a journey of hope — a pilgrimage.' His wife, Queen Nandi, a 43-year-old born Jean Gasho, wrote on social media that the group had 'returned to claim Scotland as our homeland, a land stolen by Elizabeth the first 400 years ago when she deported all black people from Scotland and England, who were not Africans but natives of the land.' 'Jacobites were black, from their ancestor Jacob, Yacobho, a black man. According to our Prophet Atehene, Jerusalem is in Scotland, and that he is the seed and offspring of David, the Messiah. The old world is going, the Second Exodus has begun, only those who live off grid, in Tabernacles will be saved, as we enter the Millennium Kingdom of Kubala, and the world is left behind,' she continued, according to the outlet. It was not immediately clear how many people are part of the Kingdom of Kubala and how many are currently living in the forest in Jedburgh. Meanwhile, Scottish Borders Council says it is 'working with Police Scotland' to manage the situation. 'This has included the provision of advice and information about housing options and other support services,' a spokesperson told SWNS.
Daily Mail
a minute ago
- Daily Mail
Take them to the tower: As Scotland's NHS is on its knees nationalist MSPs want to end oath of allegiance to King
Senior Nationalists have sparked outrage after demanding an end to MSPs swearing allegiance to the King – while public services 'collapse around them'. The move would require rewriting the Scotland Act which underpins devolution and votes in the House of Commons, House of Lords and Holyrood. The Scottish Conservatives said voters crying out for improvements in the NHS, education and policing would be repelled by the 'constitutional navel gazing'. Tory MSP Murdo Fraser called it 'the worst sort of petty student politics'. He said: 'Scots will be outraged SNP MSPs are focusing on this issue while our public services collapse around them. 'Parliament should be holding this failing SNP government to account on so many issues such as the ferry scandal, Scotland's record level of drug deaths and our flagging economy, rather than wasting time discussing this. 'It is typical Nationalist MSPs are yet again putting their obsession with the constitution above everything else and things that really matter to people.' Statistics this week showed worsening A&E waits, with more than a third of patients waiting more than the four-hour target to be seen, and growing numbers of cancer deaths. Recent weeks have also revealed a 15 per cent surge in drug overdoses, a stubborn attainment gap between rich and poor schools pupils, and growing numbers of crimes going unsolved. The annual GERS report also indicated a £26.5billion gap between public spending in Scotland and what is raised in tax, driven in part by a runaway welfare budget. Scotland is also still stuck in a cost of living crisis that has seen bills continue to soar. The row was triggered by former SNP minister Kevin Stewart calling for Scotland to follow the example of one of the smallest nations in the Commonwealth. The Caribbean island of Grenada last month agreed to change its oath of allegiance to remove the words 'His Majesty King Charles the Third, His Heirs and Successors'. In future, parliamentarians will simply swear allegiance to 'Grenada'. Mr Stewart tabled a parliamentary motion on Tuesday. The Aberdeen Central MSP said Holyrood should 'commend' Grenada for dropping 'the oath of allegiance to the British crown'. Urging MSPs to recognise 'the people of Scotland are sovereign', he said Holyrood 'should have the power to follow Grenada's lead and have its members pledge allegiance to the people of Scotland and not an unelected monarch'. By Wednesday night, the motion had been signed by another 11 SNP MSPs, including former housing minister Paul McLennan and ex-minister for parliamentary business George Adam. Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer and Labour left-winger Mercedes Villalba also supported the call, as did SNP-turned-independent MSP John Mason. A host of MSPs have complained about the oath since the Scottish parliament was revived in 1999. Within minutes of the devolution era beginning, then SNP leader Alex Salmond stated his 'primary loyalty lies with the people of Scotland' before being sworn in as the third ever MSP. Then Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan was sworn in 'under protest' in 1999, saying it was at odds with his 'vision for Scotland' as a 'democratic socialist republic'. In 2003, fellow Scottish Socialist Rosie Kane famously made her affirmation with 'my oath is to the people' written on her upraised palm. Hitting out at the latest bid to undermine the oath, Mr Fraser added: 'This is a shameless bid from an Nationalist MSP to try and pander to republican voters inside and outside of his party. 'The reality is the King and the monarchy remain one of the most loved and respected institutions across Scotland. 'Most people will wonder why Nationalist MSPs are focusing on this constitutional navel gazing when they should be tackling the real priorities of Scots... rather than engaging in the worst sort of petty student politics.' Alastair Cameron, chair of Scotland in Union, said: 'It's typical of the SNP to focus on trivial matters when so much else is going wrong. It's a waste of time and effort, and shows more than ever why Scotland must vote for change next May.' Labour peer George Foulkes, a former MSP, said the SNP habitually obsessed about 'trivia' and 'vanity projects' and voters were 'increasingly fed up with them'. He said: 'The papers are full of stories about people being let down by the NHS and schools and the justice system, yet the SNP is focused on irrelevancies. 'These strange diversions only play into the hands of the people who want to abolish Holyrood.'
Reuters
2 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump admin better-placed than courts to release Epstein files, judge says
NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said on Wednesday that the Trump administration is in a better position than federal courts to release materials that would satisfy public curiosity about the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case. In rejecting the Justice Department's bid to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted Epstein in 2019, Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Richard Berman wrote that the 70-odd pages of materials the grand jury saw paled in comparison to the 100,000 pages the government has from its Epstein investigation but is not releasing. The judge said the bid to persuade him to unseal the records was an apparent distraction from the Justice Department's decision in July not to release its files and directly cited another judge's decision earlier this month not to release similar materials from the grand jury that indicted Epstein's longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. "The instant grand jury motion appears to be a 'diversion' from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government's possession," Berman wrote. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Berman's decision came as President Donald Trump has faced criticism from his conservative base of supporters and congressional Democrats over the Justice Department's decision not to release the files from its Epstein investigation. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty. His death in jail and his friendships with the wealthy and powerful sparked conspiracy theories that other prominent people were involved in his alleged crimes and that he was murdered. Trump, a Republican, had campaigned for a second term in 2024 with promises to make public Epstein-related files, and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the Justice Department declined to release any more material from its investigation of the case and said a previously touted Epstein client list did not exist, angering Trump's supporters. To try to quell the discontent, Trump in July instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek court approval for the release of grand jury material from Epstein's case. Evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to prevent interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge's approval. Justice Department investigations typically collect more material than prosecutors ultimately present to grand juries. Some of that evidence is sometimes eventually disclosed to the public during criminal trials. The Justice Department does not routinely disclose its evidence in cases where a defendant pleads guilty or, like Epstein, never faces trial, but it would not require judicial approval to release such materials. The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard from just one witness, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and saw a PowerPoint presentation and call logs, Berman wrote. On Aug. 11, a different Manhattan-based judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury testimony and exhibits from Maxwell's case, writing that the material was duplicative of public testimony at her 2021 trial. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein. "A member of the public, appreciating that the Maxwell grand jury materials do not contribute anything to public knowledge, might conclude that the Government's motion for their unsealing was aimed not at 'transparency' but at diversion - aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such," Engelmayer wrote. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty. After losing an appeal, she asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review her case.
