Inquest delay 'unacceptable'

Carli Barry, who suffered from ME, died in St Paul's Churchyard near her Holgate home on February 8, 2001 - her 27th birthday. Her body was found nine days later, after a major police search.

An inquest, which opened on March 15, 2001, heard that she was thought to have died from an overdose. It was then adjourned pending the completion of police inquiries. But a date has still not even been set for the full hearing.

Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh, who complained to Home Office Minister Paul Goggins after being contacted by Carli's mother, Sheila, of Huby, near Easingwold, said today: "The delay is unacceptable."

Mr Goggins has said in a letter to the MP that he shared such concerns and that his officials had arranged to visit the York coroner this month.

He said Mr Coverdale had indicated last February that he had received the additional items of correspondence he needed, and would take immediate steps to list the inquest for hearing. "I agree it is highly unsatisfactory that nothing seems to have happened," said Mr Goggins.

He also revealed that he was concerned that the coroner had not responded to several letters from solicitors acting for Carli's family.

"My officials have now been in contact with the Lord Chancellor, so that he may consider whether this is becoming a case where he may wish to exercise his disciplinary powers."

He said Mr Coverdale had agreed that the delay in replying to letters had been unacceptable, and was writing to the solicitors to apologise.

The coroner had said he had been waiting for the final results of some toxicology tests, which were not available until December, and had also explained he had been asked by Carli's family to make sure he did not proceed until he had all the information he needed.

But the inquest would now take place before the end of March.

Mr Coverdale said today he was hopeful that listing arrangements for the inquest would be made this week.

He said: "This has been a difficult matter to bring to a conclusion, but it is now clear that the assembly of evidence is as complete as it can be, and I have been particularly grateful to Mrs Barry for her search for the truth and for her valuable assistance in gathering relevant material.

"You will understand that I cannot comment further on the evidence at this stage. The time taken to complete inquests in York has been substantially reduced during 2004 and this process is continuing."

Extracts of a letter from Home Office minister Paul Goggins to Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh

I am also concerned by the letter sent to me by Mrs Barry's solicitors, Messrs Lester Morrill, to the effect that Mr Coverdale has not responded to several letters over the past year. My officials have now been in contact with the Lord Chancellor so that he may consider whether this is becoming a case where he may wish to exercise his disciplinary powers.

My officials have now been able to speak to Mr Coverdale at some length. He has given us some information which I think is helpful and he has explained that he has written to you about this case in the early part of last month.

I understand that the evidence that Mr Coverdale has been waiting for is now available and that he has confirmed that the inquest is likely to be held within two months, certainly before the end of March 2005. Mr Coverdale has also told us that he is writing to the solicitors to apologise for his failure to reply to their letters; he has agreed that this oversight must be laid at his door and that the delay is unacceptable.

Mother hopes plight of ME sufferers will be highlighted

CARLI Barry's mother did not want to comment today on the delays, but said that when the inquest was finally held, she hoped it would highlight the terrible problems experienced by people suffering from the debilitating condition ME.

"After Carli died, I was contacted by countless ME sufferers who were suicidal or had been suicidal," she said.

"They have little hope and many cannot face living for several more decades in such pain and distress. They have problems getting benefits for an invisible illness."

"Carli was the third ME sufferer in this area to have died by their own choice. Since her death I have heard of another York sufferer who took similar action."

Mrs Barry said she would also like the inquest to examine possible links between ME and pesticides.

She believed Carli developed the illness as a result of being caught in a pesticide spray during her childhood in the Huby area.

"The symptoms of ME are similar to those of Gulf War Syndrome and the illness farmers experienced when dipping their sheep in organophosphates.

"The Government, chemical companies and insurance companies continue to deny the connection as to admit it would cost them huge amounts of compensation."

Mike Laycock examines the lengthy waits for York inquests experienced by other families in the last year - and what can be done to tackle the problem

The trauma of losing a loved one suddenly, unexpectedly and sometimes violently is bad enough, and one that is not helped by the prospect of having to get through an inquest.

But when it takes literally years for a full inquest to be staged, families say the pain and anguish they suffer becomes that much worse.

Last September, the sons and daughter of Debbie Exton were distraught after waiting 32 months to discover why a piece of masonry fell from a York church during a storm in January 2002, killing their mother.

They told the Evening Press they found it unbelievable how long it was taking to stage the inquest, which was eventually held in the autumn. "This is just adding to our agony," said Mark, one of Debbie's sons.

"Every day we wait it gets worse. It's the not knowing that's the problem.

"We don't want this to happen to anyone else - both the accident itself and the wait for the inquest."

But it already had happened to two other families earlier last year, who were left waiting for a combined total of almost seven years before inquests were held into the deaths of their children.

One of the families, that of Craig Archer, of Clifton, who waited 34 months, complained to York MP Hugh Bayley. He said later that it was "awful" to see the anguish they were suffering, and said he was seeking a meeting with the coroner to discuss why it was taking so long.

A former York coroner, Anthony Morris, told the Evening Press that he could only recall one of his inquests ever taking so long to come to a hearing - and that had involved an incident abroad.

He said that he could be "forceful" if other people threatened to delay his inquests, and that long delays could cause problems: "People's memories start to fade. Justice delayed is justice denied, as has been said."

Mr Coverdale spoke last year of the difficulties created because he did not have a dedicated court for hearings, saying he sometimes found he could get all the witnesses together for a particular date, but then discovered no room was available.

While the Home Office is responsible for the administration of the coroner system, disciplinary matters are left to the Lord Chancellor.

A spokeswoman said a range of options were open to him if concerns were raised, including reprimanding and even sacking coroners.

She said a coroner had not been sacked over any issue in recent years, but, after an inquest backlog in Teesside left some families waiting more than two years for a verdict, the Teesside coroner was last year given a severe reprimand.

Updated: 10:40 Monday, February 07, 2005