PRESS RELEASE – 2ND MAY 2024 – SHEKU BAYOH PUBLIC INQUIRY LORD MULHOLLAND DELIVERS DAMNING INDICTMENT OF CROWN OFFICE
2nd May 2014 -PRESS RELEASE
SHEKU BAYOH PUBLIC INQUIRY
Former Lord Advocate James Wolffe KC- admits failure to investigate race was a ‘missed opportunity’- whilst High Court Judge and former Lord Advocate- Lord Mulholland who gave evidence today was highly critical of the actions of the Crown after he left.
Statement by Aamer Anwar- Solicitor on behalf of the family of Sheku Bayoh
The Bayoh family placed their faith in the Lord Advocate James Wolffe KC to fearlessly, robustly and impartially investigate the death in custody of Sheku, yet he failed catastrophically.
Mr Wolffe, over the course of two day’s evidence repeatedly used the excuse ‘with the benefit of hindsight’. The Crown Office on Mr. Wolffe’s watch is accused of cynically manipulating events, abusing the human rights of the Sheku’s family, treating them with contempt and doing everything possible to obstruct their search for truth. They failed to investigate race, instructed the wrong experts, presented the wrong facts to experts and sabotaged any hope of prosecution.
The Bayoh family remain deeply grateful to the Former Lord Advocate, now High Court Judge, Lord Mulholland for speaking with total candour today, but also for always treating them with total compassion and respect. Sadly, once he left the Crown Office, they appear to have taken every opportunity to obstruct the search for justice by the Bayoh family. The family believe today’s evidence is a damning indictment of what followed on Lord Mulholland’s departure.
The Bayoh family hold James Wolffe KC, ultimately responsible for the betrayal of justice and presiding over a culture of incompetence, denial, secrecy, bias and institutional racism.
Yesterday Mr. Wolffe confirmed yesterday, two days before the 9th anniversary of Sheku’s death, what the family have always known, the Crown never really investigated racism, and he called it a ‘missed opportunity’.
Mr. Wolffe’s shameful admission, is too little too late, how many black people have to die, how many more families must set up campaigns to simply get to the truth.
