Inquest campaign for legal aid launched

The charity INQUEST has launched a campaign for legal aid for automatic non-means-tested legal aid funding to bereaved families following a state-related death. The charity was left disappointed last month by the Ministry of Justice review of LASPO (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act), which ignored requests to introduce legal aid funding for inquests.

The ‘Now or Never! Legal Aid for Inquests’ campaign kicked off with an event in Parliament last week. Deborah Coles, director of INQUEST, said: ‘INQUEST and the families we work with refuse to be silenced.’ The campaign is supported by the Bar Council, Legal Action Group and several other organisations.