Blame game at the coroner’s office

Grieving families on the Isle of Wight have accused the Island’s coroner, Caroline Sumeray, of deflecting blame for the “heartbreak” caused by long-delayed inquests – onto her staff, the council, and now the media.

By law, inquests are supposed to be completed within six months. But according to the Chief Coroner’s latest annual report, 422 inquests on the Island were open for more than a year at the end of 2024. That’s nearly six times the national average of 75 – and second only to Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, which serves a population eight times larger than the Island’s. Here, just 3 per cent of inquests take place within a year.

“She blamed her staff, then the council, now it’s the media’s turn,” one bereaved relative told the IW Observer. “We waited years for answers and for closure. It was a heart-breaking time. It looks like she’s now running out of excuses.”

The Observer reported last week that families who tried to complain about Ms Sumeray were directed to her personally – despite complaints about coroners being a matter for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. Former staff have now claimed that this was not a misunderstanding or a mistake, but on direct instructions from Ms Sumeray herself.

When asked to comment, the Isle of Wight Council did not address the allegation but said it had now updated its website to clarify how complaints should be made. Ms Sumeray chose not to respond at all.

In a letter sent to families about a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from the IW Observer, Ms Sumeray acknowledged that the media is “legally entitled” to the information we asked for, but suggested that private details from inquest records might be published and claimed the request could cause “further distress.” She wrote: “I am very sorry for any distress this further contact may cause you… however, this situation has been brought about by the request made by the media.”

In fact, it is another attempt to shift blame onto others that led to our recent FOI request. In a press release issued by Ms Sumeray in May, she blamed delays of up to three and a half years on police, prisons, the NHS Trust and marine accident investigations. She refused then to release supporting information, citing exemption from FOI legislation. However, she is required to release the information we requested, albeit in a different format.

She also admitted that families had not been provided with the documents in question. Her letter said: “It is not an absolute legal requirement for this to be sent to you, but as they have been done, I am happy to provide them to you.”

Another grieving family told us: “We weren’t offered this information after waiting more than three years for an inquest. It’s about time she was made to answer questions.”

So many families who have contacted us say they’ve had enough of delays, deflection, and excuses. They want answers – and we will do our best to find them.