Bayoh public inquiry to open on Monday

The independent public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Sheku Bayoh will begin next Monday, 30 November, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has announced.

Retired Court of Session judge Lord Bracadale will lead the statutory inquiry and will announce how it will proceed in due course. He will be assisted by two assessors whose appointment Mr Yousaf also announced: Michael Fuller, former chief constable of Kent Police and then HM Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service; and Raju Bhatt, an experienced lawyer who specialises in working with families who have lost a loved one through a death in custody, and a member of the reference group on the Independent Review of Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody by Dame Elish Angiolini who reported to the Home Secretary in 2017.

The assessors will support Lord Bracadale with their knowledge and experience in their individual areas of expertise, as well as on race and diversity issues during the preparation, oral hearings, decision making and report writing phases. The Bayoh family and police interests were consulted on their appointment.

The inquiry will examine the circumstances leading up to the death of Mr Bayoh in police custody in Kirkcaldy in 2015, the post-incident management process and subsequent investigation. It will also establish the extent to which Mr Bayoh’s actual or perceived race played a part in events, if any.

Lord Bracadale has the power to call expert witnesses. He will make an opening statement on the inquiry’s website www.shekubayohinquiry.scot when it goes live at 9am on Monday.