Thank you DaveReidUK for posting that extract from court papers. It raises a number of interesting points illustrating the power of a Coroner, and which perhaps go some way to answering a few of the questions above.
The High Court ruled that the AAIB report could not be used in a criminal trial (even though everyone had it, and the prosecution proceeded based on it); but it could be used by the Coroner, who is not permitted to apportion blame (although that’s unavoidable in some circumstances). Here, the Coroner has used it to make what is effectively a criminal judgment. I wonder if that is why the pilot is thinking about a judicial review?
But while not claiming to understand the ins and outs of the legal system, it troubles me that the Coroner, despite being notified of many errors and anomalies in the report, continued to regard it as factual. The High Court ruling prevented anyone introducing evidence of these errors or arguing against the report at the Inquest. To make sure, the pilot was not allowed to be a witness, the Coroner ruling this on 22 June 2022. Specifically, she said:
‘However it seems to me that any matter that Mr Hill, the pilot, might address in his evidence is already covered by the AIIB [sic] investigation and I do not propose that he should be called to give evidence to the inquests’.
Which is plainly rubbish, as he’d be mad not to point out the errors, or at least submit that the Coroner could not cite the report until corrected, and the true implications of what it revealed were made clear. Again, I wonder if the pilot considers this as an abuse of power or somehow tainting the proceedings?
Who benefited from this ruling? The CAA, certainly. And the AAIB would be spared the embarrassment of its errors. Also, MoD’s flawed g calculations would not be discussed. When you can refute something like that, then it’s not difficult to see how reasonable doubt was raised at trial.