Inquiries

• What type of inquiries are there?

  Statutory and non-statutory inquiries
• What are non-statutory inquiries?

  Internal investigations or reviews e.g. The Maze Prison Escape Inquiry (1983)
• What are statutory inquiries?

  Rules set out in statute, often public, power to compel witnesses.
• What statute has the rules of inquiries?

  Inquiries Act 2005
• What are the functions of inquiries?

  • Establishing facts
  • Learning from events
  • Closure and accountability
  • Public reassurance
• How is an inquiry established?

  Inquiries Act 2005 Section 1

  • Ministers set up inquiries when it appears that there is public concern
• While ministers have discretion to set up an inquiry the court will ask the minister to rationally explain why they aren't setting one up
• Who appoints the chair and panel in an inquiry?

  • The minister appoints the chair and panel members
  • The chairperson has discretion over the procedure
• What are the advantages of having a judge as a chairperson?

  • Perception of independence
  • Impartiality
  • Integrity
  • Experience of handling contested facts
• What are the disadvantages of appointing a judge as a chairperson?

  • Lack of expertise
  • Legalistic approach
  • Less ability to work with the media
  • Harmful to the image of impartial judiciary
• What is the scope of an inquiry?

  The Inquiries Act Section 5 sets out that the minister can set out terms of reference and Section 40 gives them control of costs
• What are the proceedings of an inquiry?

  • Section 2 highlights that there's no determination of civil/criminal liability
  • Section 40 sets out that it must be public and recorded
  • Section 13 and 14 set out that the minister can suspend or end an inquiry at any time
• What are the outcomes of an inquiry?

  Section 24 and 25 set out that a report must be delivered to the minister and published
• What were the facts of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry?

  • Set up by Tony Blair
  • Introduced to inquire into the events of 30/01/1972 in Londonderry
  • Chaired by Lord Saville
  • The report was published in 2010 and was over 5,000 pages in 10 volumes
  • Cost almost £200 million
• What were the conclusions of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry?

  • The events were a tragedy and a catastrophe
  • The victims posed no serious threat
  • Soldiers "knowingly put forward false accounts" to justify firing
  • The killings were unjustified
• What did the Parliamentary Select Committee Report in 2014 find on inquiries?


  • No consistency in decisions to hold inquiry
  • Too much power is granted to ministers
  • Interested parties should be allowed to make representations about terms of reference
• What criticisms of inquiries do Harlow and Rawlings make?

  • Political motivation
  • Lack of independence
  • Inefficiency in producing meaningful outcomes
• What alternatives do Harlow and Rawlings suggest to inquiries?

  Judicial inquiries or independent commissions
• What was the Hillsborough disaster?

  • 15/04/1989 - There was a severe crush at a Liverpool game in Sheffield, which resulted in 96 victims injured
• Taylor Inquiry


  • Lord Justice Taylor conducted an inquiry and found "no provision" for controlling the entry of spectators
  • Emphatically blamed police mismanagement of the event
  • The Inquiry’s key findings appeared unequivocal in raising an expectation that criminal prosecutions and inquest verdicts of ‘unlawfully killed’ would follow
• Hillsborough Independent Panel (2010)

  Set up by the Home Secretary, this panel reviewed documents related to the disaster and its aftermath to provide a comprehensive analysis of the events.
• Coroner's Inquests (1989-2016)


  A series of inquests were held to examine the circumstances and causes of the deaths of the 96 victims.
• What were Phil Scraton's criticism of the Hillsborough Inquiries about?

  • The various investigations and inquiries did not initially get to the truth of what happened.
  • He argues that there was a systemic cover-up by authorities to shift blame onto the fans.
• According to Scraton, which inquiry uncovered the truth?

  • The Hillsborough Independent Panel's report in 2012 was considered a significant step towards revealing the truth by uncovering evidence of police failures and the extent of the cover-up.
• What is Scraton's opinion on the Hillsborough disaster?

  • The Hillsborough disaster was a result of systemic failures and a subsequent cover-up by authorities.
  • Caused by a combination of factors, incl. inadequate crowd control measures, poor stadium design, and failures in emergency response coordination.
  • Police and other authorities deliberately shifted blame onto the fans, perpetuating a false narrative that the disaster was caused by misbehaviour.
  • He believes that this narrative was used to protect the reputation of the police and other agencies involved.