Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Jenrick MP, has slammed the Isle of Wight’s embattled Coroner, declaring that the ongoing situation is ‘completely unacceptable’ and that ‘enough is enough’.
During a sit-down interview with Island Echo at the weekend, the senior Conservative MP said residents are ‘sick to their back teeth’ of the failings within the Isle of Wight Coroner’s Office, which is plagued by the worst inquest backlog in the country. He stressed that bereaved families are being let down at the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
Mr Jenrick stated that His Majesty’s Senior Coroner, Caroline Sumeray, must urgently raise standards or ‘consider her position’, adding that the current level of service cannot continue any longer. He also signalled support for future reforms to make it easier to remove coroners and judges who consistently fail to meet public expectations.
Robert Jenrick, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor, said:
“The service provided by the coroner is completely unacceptable and enough is enough. Residents are sick to their back teeth by what has been going on.
“This is a service which people rely on in the most difficult moments of their lives. Bereaved relatives who are searching for answers in moments of immense personal distress should be able to rely on the coroner to provide a good, efficient, professional service, and it’s quite clear that’s not being provided on the Isle of Wight.
“Residents are being subjected to the worst service anywhere in the country, and that now has to end. It is now up to the coroner to raise the standard urgently or consider her position. One way or another, this has to be resolved.
“No one in public life should be beyond accountability. There is a fear that some coroners are almost beyond reproach, able to fall way below the standards the public expect and get away with it for years. That cannot be right. I believe this is an area ripe for reform so that when a coroner consistently fails, ministers can directly intervene and remove them.
Article continues below this advertisement “I will be working with Joe Robertson to keep pressing this issue in Parliament, and I will be considering what changes to the law are needed to make sure a situation like this cannot be repeated elsewhere in the country.”
It was only last week that Island Echo reported that the Coroner had been handed a formal warning over delays, and Senior leaders have recently described the service as ‘not fit for purpose‘. Families now endure delays – on average – of up to 76 weeks before inquests are concluded.
Earlier this month, the House of Commons heard of Islanders’ ‘untold turmoil’. It has also been recently reported that 6 out of 7 new recruits have resigned.
Many Islanders are calling for Caroline Sumeray’s resignation, with Robert Jenrick’s comments now adding further national political weight to those demands.
So has Mr Jenrick been uncovered as enough is enough
God help us
Never good to take the Lords name in vain
Amen
What a mess. Our coroner is seen as someone with only a passing interest in the job, only coming to the Island for an occasional hearing, being high handed with anyone who has dealings with her.
She lost confidence of the MPs and the judiciary, the delays continue despite a shiny new court built at our expense.
Not a single public figure speaks up for her across the political divide. And she’s guilty of misconduct. It’s time for her to go.
Like most island run organisations and businesses
all run by Cowboys.
We need mainland brains running the island, things
will change then.
I’d love to know what her salary and expenses come to??
No wonder our council tax keeps going up to pay
for such persons.
In the modern world, surely A.I could do her job better.
Unusually, I find myself agreeing with Jenrick. However, it is a pity he didn’t do something when he was in government. This problem has been going on for years and he ignored it when he was in office.
All politicians are the same, they say one thing and do
the opposite.
Only Honest Jeremy Corbyn can turn things around.
He is real Labour and cares for everyone.