In These New Times

PressTV

10th November, 2010

The British government is to appeal against a coroner’s order after the investigations, by which MI5 evidence should be heard in open court.

Despite pleas from government lawyers, which was based on the prevention of open discussion about the issue, Lady Justice Hallett said last week that she could not exclude the families from the hearings, according to the BBC.

Home Office also had written to Lady Hallett that it would ask for a judicial review of the decision not to allow closed evidence from MI5. The Security Service lawyers said that coroners’ decisions asked the public not to attend the court for the hearings.

In this regard, Lady Hallett said that she would not accept this order and would order closed hearings since she had a legal duty to enlighten the case for the families of the victims.

Victims’ families said they were very upset and angry by the decision. Graham Foulkes, whose son was killed, has accused MI5 of leaving the families distressed and angry. “It’s shocking that we hear this from the media and that MI5’s barristers don’t have the decency to tell our legal teams first,” he said.

One of the families’ lawyers Clifford Tibber said the decision was “outrageous”. “The coroner has already said that there are no circumstances in which she will allow the personal safety of any member of the Security Service or the interests of national security to be put at risk,” said Tibber.