By Carole Dennett
It may take up to five years to get an inquest when your loved one dies, but the Isle of Wight Coroner – who was issued a formal warning this week for misconduct – can move remarkably fast when she reads something about herself that she doesn’t like.
Our story about the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office’s decision to issue the first disciplinary warning for inquest delays in six years was published on our website at 10:14am this morning. At 12:41pm, we received the following letter from Kingsley Napley, solicitors who describe themselves as: “An internationally recognised London law firm with top-ranked lawyers. Our experts advise clients on their business and private lives, when it matters most.”
At 1:17pm, we sent the following response:
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for your letter.
We have multiple sources confirming that accusations of bullying have been made. We are confident that any investigation by IMPRESS will uphold our editorial decision to publish the fact that such accusations exist.
We raised the issue of bullying in writing on 21st July, having been instructed to direct all enquiries through the Isle of Wight Council’s press office. Is your client now stating that the press office did not contact her regarding this enquiry?
To ensure our online story is updated accurately, please confirm as soon as possible whether your client denies the accusation of bullying, or denies that any accusations have been made, as this is unclear from your letter.
If your client now wishes to issue a statement explaining that she was unaware of the accusations due to shortcomings within the IW Communications Team, we will of course publish it promptly.
I look forward to hearing from you, at which point any appropriate updates will be made to the online article.
Please also confirm whether your fees in relation to this matter are being paid from the public purse or by your client personally.
Kind regards,
Carole Denett
Editor
For a statement to be defamatory it has damage somebody’s reputation AND be untrue. We are waiting for Kingsley Napley’s response. Unless there is a good reason not to, we will publish it so that our readers can see for themselves what is being said.
The IW Observer is not easily intimidated by lawyers – no matter how “top-ranked” – who say we should not publish the letters they send us. We believe transparency matters, especially when public officials turn to expensive legal representation to challenge factual reporting.
We would be more than happy to publish any statement from the coroner about these issues. However, having been moved to tears more than once while listening to Islanders share heartbreaking stories of years-long waits for inquests, we know exactly what “matters most” – it’s delivering justice and closure for grieving Island families, many of whom have been treated shamefully.
