Legal Aid Denial in 1974 Guildford Pub Bombing a ’Travesty’ And a ‘Betrayal’

Published on: 28 Aug, 2019
Updated on: 31 Aug, 2019

The Horse and Groom pub shortly after the bombing.

Denial of legal aid for the family of Private Ann Hamilton, killed in the 1974 Guildford pub bombings, is a “travesty”, a leading lawyer has said.

The 19-year-old soldier was among five people killed by the IRA bomb which devastated the Horse and Groom in North Street on October 5, 45 years ago.

Her sister Cassandra said Pte Hamilton had been training to protect her country but was now being “betrayed” in the renewed inquest, suspended in 1975 after convictions later found wrongful.

Private Caroline Slater, 19, Guardsmen John Hunter, 18, and William Forsyth, 17, of the Scots Guards, and 21-year-old plasterer Paul Craig were also killed and 65 others were injured. A second explosion at the Seven Stars in Swan Lane caused no serious injuries.

The Guildford Four, Gerry Conlon, Paddy Armstrong, Paul Hill and Carole Richardson and the Maguire Seven were acquitted and freed 15 years later after serious irregularities in Surrey Police’s investigation were uncovered. This is known to be Britain’s biggest miscarriage of justice.

In January 2019, Surrey’s senior coroner, Richard Travers, ordered the inquests to be resumed. Mr Travers said he had written to the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) in support of the family’s application for funding, but it was not “within his gift” to grant it. The Ministry of Justice said the coroner could ask questions of witnesses on behalf of families.

The LAA had denied the application by Pte Hamilton’s family. Campaigns for legal aid for families of terror victims in several high-profile inquests including the London Bridge attack have also failed.

A similar inquest battle by the families of the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings was rejected after four years of pro bono representation by solicitors KRW.

The Dean of Guildford Cathedral lights a candle in remembrance during a memorial service on the 40th anniversary of the terrorist attack.

Christopher Stanley of KRW said: “Again, a family have been excluded from effectively participating in the inquest into the death of their loved one while state agencies, the police, the MoD, have legal representation at taxpayers’ expense.

“This will be a long and complex process of investigation. We will be making representations to both the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary, but unless the matter of public funding can be resolved or reformed then the family of Ann Hamilton will not be able to engage with this process, which will be a further injustice.”

Kevin Winters, KRW’s founding partner, added: “Our firm cannot sustain pro bono assistance in this matter following our commitment to the Birmingham families.

“We have got to the stage of assisting the family of Ann Hamilton and Yvonne Tagg (a survivor of the blasts) and through our representations we have secured the resumption of the Guildford pub bombings’ 1974 inquest.

The memorial to the five who died as a result of the Guildford pub bombings can be seen in Quakers’ Acre opposite the building that was the Horse & Groom pub.

“Without our continued support our clients will not be able to engage in this process and will be, once again, effectively excluded. We are also aware of the importance of this inquest to the remaining members of the Guildford Four and their families, including our client Bridie Brennan, the niece of Gerry Conlon.

“The inquest will be a travesty without enabling all victims to effectively participate with effective and independent legal representation.”

The Guildford Four’s Gerry Conlon and Carole Richardson have since died, but Paddy Armstrong and Paul Hill survive and Mr Armstrong attended the hearing at the Surrey coroner’s court in December 2018 about resumption of the inquests.

No further charges or convictions have followed the bombings. No date has been set for the inquest resumption.