Despite widespread delays in inquest hearings and public outcry over the performance of the Isle of Wight Coroner’s Service, it has emerged that a total of 6 Assistant Coroners, appointed more than 5 years ago, have never once presided over a case on the Isle of Wight.
A new report to the Isle of Wight Council’s Environment and Community Protection Committee has laid bare the persistent underuse of judicial resources on the Isle of Wight, with confirmation – for the first time – that 6 Assistant Coroners were appointed during the pandemic in 2020.
Despite being in position for some 5 years, they have not once conducted an inquest. The entire pool of judicial resource remains unused, despite soaring case backlogs and national embarrassment.
The deployment of any Assistant Coroner is at the sole discretion of the Senior Coroner, Caroline Sumeray.
According to the Coroners Service Recovery Plan, work to activate the existing Assistant Coroners to provide support has been ‘paused’. It was intended to be sorted by the end of September.
A seventh Assistant Coroner has been appointed and will begin in January 2026.
The spotlight on the Coroner and her service was well and truly switched on when, back in June of this year, senior leaders described the Coroner’s Service as ‘not fit for purpose’ during Island Echo’s and IW Observer’s State of the Island debate. This has proven to be a turning point, putting pressure on the Coroner to make significant improvements.
In 2024, only 38 inquests were concluded on the Isle of Wight, with an average wait time of 76 weeks – more than double the national average. There are more than 422 open cases that have been unresolved for over a year.
I am sorry none of this ongoing saga is a good reflection on our head Coroner or the IOW Council, the empty autopsy room(s), highlighted months ago, with now an addition of 6 assistant coroners hired in 2020 who I presume are being paid for doing 5 years of zero autopsies with another one starting in January, beggars belief. I don’t blame the coroner why work if you can get paid for doing such an abysmal job, has she no compassion for all those families who want to bury/cremate their loved ones and say a proper goodbye. Where are all the bodies being stored? Why hasn’t the service itself stepped in to resolve this truly awful situation? Someone is accountable the Isle of Wight is yet again held up as yet another poor example of how to do an essential job…
The island services are a joke.
Are the assistants on a salary or retainer?
Probably shirking from home on full pay.
‘Perk of working for the public sector’
And yet, there she still is. Being paid by US, the tax payer for being inept and not up to the job. We waited 96 weeks for my Father’s inquest! How disgusting to now find out that she had could have had help.
Majority of Government employed employees are lazy and
are UNACCOUNTABLE.