The government is revising plans for non-jury inquests included in the Coroners and Justice Bill, limiting the circumstances in which such inquests can be held.

The revisions will allow for more judicial involvement and discretion, offering more balances and checks, the Ministry of Justice said.

The bill, which is before parliament, contains proposals for non-jury inquests where highly sensitive material, which may be relevant to a coroner’s investigation, cannot be made public. Civil liberties campaigners and opposition MPs have strongly criticised the plans.

The amendments announced today will:Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said: ‘With these proposals the government is seeking to balance the proper function of an inquest with the need to protect sensitive information.

  • Tighten the criteria for certification, so that the secretary of state may only certify an investigation if satisfied that it is necessary to do so in order to protect the interests of national security, relations with another country or preventing or detecting crime, or to protect the safety of a witness or other person;
  • Remove the ability to certify an investigation on the grounds of preventing ‘real harm to the public interest’;
  • Strengthen judicial involvement in the certified inquest by ensuring that the High Court judge who will be appointed to hear the inquest would have discretion to determine what measures were needed to prevent the sensitive matter being made public;
  • Introduce more checks and balances because the decision by the secretary of state to certify an investigation would be subject to judicial review and the decision by the judge to hold, or not to hold, the inquest without a jury would be subject to appeal; and
  • Strengthen the requirements to notify interested persons by removing this from the secretary of state and placing the requirement on the coroner.

‘The government has listened carefully to the concerns raised.’