Family of Molly Russell granted legal aid
The family of Molly Russell have been granted legal aid following an appeal of the initial decision by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) to refuse to fund their legal costs.
Posted on 12 March 2019
The Legal Aid Agency has confirmed that the family will receive legal aid to cover their legal costs for Molly’s inquest and will not have to contribute from their own finances.
Ian Russell said:
“I am delighted that the Legal Aid Agency has reconsidered their decision and I would like to thank everyone for the many offers of support we have received. This decision is a weight lifted from our family and we now look ahead to a full and fearless inquest into Molly’s death.”
Merry Varney, solicitor at Leigh day, said:
“We welcome the decision by the LAA to reconsider legal aid for the Russell family. However, it is disappointing that our clients had to go through the appeal process to get to a positive outcome and many other families are not successful in their appeals and cannot afford to bring a judicial review against the LAA. This leaves them either reliant on lawyers working for free, fundraising or having to represent themselves at their loved one’s inquest, completely unqualified and unprepared against experienced legal teams on the other side.”