‘Like a car with no wheels’: Families’ lawyer on Scotland’s Covid inquiry after judge quits

Scotland’s public inquiry into the pandemic may not now fully investigate human rights breaches, according to Amnesty, after the resignation of the judge leading the investigation and four senior lawyers.

The campaigning charity voiced concerns about the effectiveness of the inquiry as a lawyer representing families who lost loved ones in the pandemic compared it to “a car with no wheels”.

They spoke out as sources blamed the sudden departure of Lady Poole and two thirds of the legal team on difficult working relations within the inquiry.

Four of the six inquiry lawyers, including leading counsel Douglas Ross KC, quit with immediate effect on September 29 and the following day Lady Poole told ministers she would step down after a three-month notice period, with all of them saying they were going for personal reasons.

A source close to the inquiry claimed the departure of the legal team was linked to strained relations between the judge and the lawyers. The source said: “It was not an easy relationship and when the lawyers resigned she could not really carry on. The legal team are essential to the public inquiry while the judge comes more to the fore towards the end.”

Ministers have refused to give further details about the resignations, insisting the inquiry is independent and it would be unlawful to intervene. Just two lawyers remain – Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen KC and junior counsel David Turner – and the search is on for replacements for the four that left, as well as a new judge.

Meanwhile, human rights group Amnesty and other leading charities have spoken of their concerns that the long-awaited inquiry – which MSPs voted for in November 2020 could be further delayed and fear the departure of Lady Poole could undermine its approach to human rights. We reported in April how 15 leading charities signed a letter calling for those disproportionately disadvantaged by government decisions to be named in the inquiry’s terms of reference.

A 2020 investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found Scottish Government policies breached human rights of those in care homes. Women, people of colour, asylum seekers, disabled people, those dependent on social care and unpaid carers were also among those worst hit by Covid.

The SNP gave a commitment to a human rights-based inquiry and previously insisted appointing Lady Poole as the independent chair meant these groups did not need to be explicitly named in the terms of reference (TORs) because she had extensive professional experience of equalities and had given a personal commitment to tackle human rights.

Amnesty International UK Scotland programme director Naomi McAuliffe said: “Earlier this year Amnesty asked for a more explicit commitment to investigating human rights breaches in the inquiry’s TORs. During meetings with Scottish Government officials and the chair herself we were assured this would not be necessary because of the chair’s professional experience in human rights and equalities, and personal commitment to look at rights breaches.

“We are increasingly concerned now that her departure may cast further doubt on to what extent this inquiry will investigate rights breaches. We will be seeking clarity from the Scottish Government about what this development means both for the timeline of the inquiry and asking that the TORs are revisited.”

Age Scotland’s chief executive Brian Sloan said: “This is an absolutely extraordinary situation and will require fast and thorough action from the Scottish Government to help get it back on track. It is remarkable that it has already taken this long for it to even get close to a position where it can hear from the public before it became derailed.

“This inquiry is so important to the country and there is no doubt that time is of the essence in order to robustly capture the necessary testimony and evidence from those directly involved in decision making, and the wide range of people who have been affected.”

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Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, added: “We’re disappointed at the suggestion of further delay to the Covid Inquiry in Scotland and urge the Scottish Government to do everything in its power to get justice back on track, ensuring we get the answers we need.”

The turmoil in the inquiry came in the same week as a UK-wide inquiry held its first public hearing in London, despite launching after the Scots probe.

Human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, who represents members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said: “I’ve been representing families at the Scottish and UK inquiry and it’s been night and day. We get responses to our emails from the UK inquiry within several hours, we have meetings every two to three weeks with the legal team, we’ve been receiving information, we get regular updates. There is none of that with the Scottish inquiry. Baroness Hallett’s UK inquiry is leaps and bounds ahead of Scotland’s inquiry.

“The Scottish inquiry is like a car with no wheels and quite clearly that’s going to impact on progression because it has no momentum and nobody to control it. The Covid-19 inquiry is the most important inquiry ever to take place in Scotland, in terms of the number of lives it has touched, the implications of it and the legacy the families want. The scale of it is immense and it means any judge that comes in must be ready to commit at least the next four to five years of their life to it.”

The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry has insisted work continues during the search for a new chair and legal counsel but it would be for ministers to change the TORs, which were finalised in June. It added: “The inquiry has issued ‘do not destroy’ letters to organisations and individuals, is reviewing core participant status applications, and has made orders under its statutory powers to obtain relevant information from the Scottish Government. We also intend to pilot listening project activities later this year.”

The Scottish Government said: “Work to appoint a new chair is being progressed at pace.”