Sophia was there, as was Jenny Oldfield, the office manager. David Smail, the part-time coroner from Derbyshire, was seated on Mrs Challinor’s right, and a new woman he didn’t know was on her left.
‘Have you met Helen Moore? She’s recently been appointed, her first day too. Carol has gone to the warmer climes of Weston-super-Mare to be the coroner for Somerset and Helen is her replacement.’
They both nodded to each other, avoiding the formal act of shaking hands.
Mrs Challinor continued speaking. ‘Ridpath is our coroner’s officer. He’s been on sick leave for six months.’ The rest of the sentence was left unspoken. Mrs Challinor didn’t feel the need to say any more.
‘Ridpath? That’s a strange first name.’
‘My Christian name is Thomas, but everybody calls me Ridpath.’ He found his voice cracking, and had to adjust the pitch. It was so long since he’d been part of these meetings, so long since he’d interacted with other human beings – other than the police psychiatrist, of course, and many of those meetings had been on Zoom.
‘Let’s get started, shall we? We have a lot to get through. I’ll go first.’ Mrs Challinor held up an official-looking piece of paper. ‘As you know, Greater Manchester was placed in another lockdown on 31 July.’
‘What a shambles,’ grumbled David Smail, ‘announcing it on Twitter two hours before it was introduced, without telling the mayor or the people.’
‘Nonetheless, we will need to be extra vigilant in applying the new measures.’
‘What are they? There was no detail. Another cock-up.’
Margaret Challinor raised her hand slightly. David Smail took the hint and stopped speaking. ‘The guidance seems unnecessarily complicated. Essentially, there should be no mixing of households…’
David Smail was about to speak again but she stopped him once more.
‘…but I will seek to get clearer rules. The instructions from the chief coroner’s advice given on 26 March remain in force; Medical Certificates of Cause of Death can still be signed by any doctor and we need to issue Form 100A, Sophia, for every death.’
‘Of course, Coroner.’
‘However, the chief coroner has made it clear that the coronial service in England and Wales should now routinely conduct hearings again. The coroner must be present in court, otherwise it is not a legally constituted tribunal, and the proceedings must be open to the public. We can still use remote video and audio for evidence but it is illegal to live-stream court proceedings.’
David Smail frowned. ‘So we can take evidence, but we can’t show the court in action? Even Parliament is live-streamed these days.’
‘According to the 1925 Act, it is still illegal to film the proceedings of a court. One day the criminal justice system will be dragged kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century, David, but that day is still to arrive.’
‘What about jury trials?’ asked Helen Moore.
‘The chief coroner would like jury inquests to recommence but suggests using smaller juries of eight or nine.’
‘How do they socially distance in our jury room? It’s impossible.’
‘We’ll have to work something out, Jenny. The chief coroner has left it to our discretion.’
‘What about the Coroners’ Court Support Service?’ asked Sophia. ‘Is it still suspended?’
It was Sophia Rahman, Ridpath’s assistant, who asked the question. To Ridpath’s eyes, she seemed to have matured immensely in the last six months. Gone was the callow girl, fresh from university, and instead a confident, able woman had taken her place. Even her clothes had changed. The casual but comfortable shirts and dresses replaced by a more formal black suit, echoing that of Mrs Challinor.
‘The CCSS helpline is operative but I’ll talk to the local resilience forum to find out when the full service will be up and running again. The chief coroner has insisted we catch up with any backlog of cases that may have built up. I am in discussions with our local authority regarding resources to enable us to do that. As ever, money is tight…’
‘Is there is no extra funding from the government?’ asked Helen.
‘Coroners’ Courts still come under the local authority so the answer is negative, Helen. The chief coroner warns that we must not exhaust our staff or put them under undue pressure. He is wary of a second wave of Covid-19 occurring. Training, even residential training, remains compulsory. Now Ridpath has returned we will arrange for you to attend more courses, Sophia, particularly in coronial law.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Challinor, I’m looking forward to them.’
‘Any more questions?’
Everybody, including Ridpath, shook their heads.
‘Right. I will continue to work with our local resilience forum to let you know if there are any more changes. As of now, the ruling applies as it did from the beginning of the pandemic.’ She picked up the chief coroner’s guidance and read it out loud. ‘A death is typically considered to be unnatural if it has not resulted entirely from a naturally occurring disease running its natural course, where nothing else is implicated. Covid-19 is an acceptable natural cause of death and is still a notifiable disease under the Health Protection Regulations 2010.’
‘Are there any occasions when a Covid-19 death is considered unnatural?’ asked Helen Moore.
‘As ever, the chief coroner has left it up to each individual coroner to decide. For example, it may be considered unnatural if the virus was contracted in the workplace setting by frontline NHS staff, public transport employees, care home workers, or emergency service personnel…’
‘Including police officers?’
‘Yes, Ridpath, including the police. However, the investigation should focus on the circumstances of the particular death. It should not, the chief coroner emphasises, be a forum for addressing concerns about high-level government policy. I will be seeking further guidance on this.’
‘And what about meetings with a family?’
‘My own thoughts are we should carry on, keeping social distance and wearing masks, of course. I would dread to think we would break the details of
