Families urge faster investigation into Gosport War Memorial Hospital deaths as 100 people are left without answers

Leigh Day human rights team partner Emma Jones says the preliminary steps involved in setting up those inquests should not have to wait until the end of Operation Magenta, the police investigation into more than 700 deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.

The investigation led by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate began in 2018 after a Gosport Independent Panel report concluded hundreds of lives had been shortened because of the routine practice of prescribing and administering opioids at the hospital.

At a meeting held this week to update families on the investigation’s process, they were told that around 100 cases did not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution.

The deaths can still be investigated at inquest, but the police will not refer the deaths to the coroner until the end of Operation Magenta when all 700 deaths will be referred. Until then, families will be left waiting for answers.  

Leigh Day human rights team solicitor Emma Jones met with families after the meeting. They told her they were very discouraged by the lack of progress in the investigation. For some, it has been nearly three decades since the deaths of their loved ones.  

Some described their devastation at hearing their loved one’s death did not meet the bar for criminal prosecution.

Emma says the inquests route should help those families to find answers about how their family member died. She is pressing for the process to begin ahead of the conclusion of Operation Magenta.

Emma represents the families of Arthur Denis Brian Cunningham, Gladys Mabel Richards and Robert Wilson who all died at Gosport War Memorial Hospital in 1998. In 2023, the High Court confirmed that fresh inquests into these deaths could take place.

She also represents the families of six other people who died at the hospital, who have been successful in securing inquests into their deaths. These deaths had never been examined by a coroner previously.  

The inquests were immediately adjourned pending the outcome of Operation Magenta.  

Ahead of this week’s Operation Magenta families forum meeting, Emma wrote to the Chief Coroner, Alexia Durran and the senior coroner for Hampshire, Christopher Wilkinson, to ask for a meeting to discuss next steps in relation to her clients whose inquests have been adjourned until the end of Magenta. She reminded them that the delays are causing a considerable amount of stress for her elderly clients.

They are now asking for the deaths to be referred to the coroner before the end of Operation Magenta to kickstart the administrative process and get inquests set up so that families are not living with uncertainty and an additional, unnecessary wait time.

Emma Jones said:

“We don’t know how much longer Operation Magenta will continue for, but it could be years before it closes. Families who have already been waiting decades for closure and for justice are anxious for any steps which can be taken to speed up that process.

“For those told that the deaths of their relatives are not being investigated any further, a start to the coronial process now will give them reassurance that there will be answers in due course.  

“I would like to hear from the Chief Coroner that they are prepared to start work on processing referrals before the end of Magenta to give confidence to the families that they will see justice.”