Meetings between Sheku Bayoh’s family and the chair of an inquiry into his death have “torpedoed the independence of the chair”, a hearing was told.
The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Roddy Dunlop KC said “secret” meetings held several times since Lord Bracadale was appointed to head the £50 million probe in 2020 were “spectacularly ill-advised”.
He is representing the Scottish Police Federation – one of a number of groups calling for Lord Bracadale to step down – and two of the officers involved in Mr Bayoh’s death.
A public inquiry running since 2021 is investigating the circumstances of Mr Bayoh’s death in Kirkcaldy in May 2015 and whether race was a factor.
Independence ‘torpedoed’
Mr Dunlop said Mr Bayoh’s family had made “inappropriate” remarks during these meetings, with Lord Bracadale claiming to have ended the meeting as a result.
He said this was contradicted by the minutes of the meeting, which showed further conversation taking place.
He said: “These meetings were, almost in their entirety, completely inappropriate.
“They were doubtless well meaning, they were doubtless arranged out of the best of intentions but – and with the greatest of respect – they were spectacularly ill-advised and they have torpedoed the independence of the chair.”
Mr Bayoh died in custody after a group of police officers involved in his arrest in Kirkcaldy responded to multiple reports of him in the streets with a knife.
Mr Dunlop also said Mr Bayoh’s family were as positioning him as “Scotland’s George Floyd”.
“The arresting officers, on the other hand, argue this was a man bent on violence, heavily intoxicated and armed with a knife – creating a clear and present danger.
“The attempt to equiparate this inquiry with, for example, the Covid inquiries or the Omagh bombing inquiry is entirely specious.”
He added the fact Lord Bracadale had written to Mr Bayoh’s family stating he was “humbled and honoured” to hear from them was “alarming”.
He said it showed clear bias and that the officers were not afforded any opportunity to similarly meet with the chair.
‘Utmost confidence’ in chair
Claire Mitchell KC, representing the family, said they had the “utmost confidence” in Lord Bracadale.
She said: “There is a preliminary matter I’d like to address and that is the idea that the meetings that the chair and others had with the family were secret – they were nothing of the sort.
“The chair mentioned in open hearing that he had met with the family, matters were stated publicly, indeed, it was even recorded in the national press.
“But perhaps rather than being surprised that the family met with the chair a question might be asked, why did other core participants not expect it?
“Because meetings with families is common place in public inquiries.”
She listed a number of such, including the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the Grenfell Tower inquiry and the Omagh bombing Inquiry.
She added the legislation that governs public inquiries states not all core participants have the same rights.
“The family of Sheku Bayoh have an Article 2 right, which this inquiry as a public body itself in terms of Section 6 of the Human Rights Act must not breach.
“That duty is not held to any other core participant and it places this family in a unique position.
“It follows from that that any and all suggestions that the core participant should be treated equally is wrong. It falls into the same error as those who say they don’t see colour and therefore they treat all people the same, can’t have issues of race.
“The inquiry has duties to the family of Sheku Bayoh that it does not have in respect of others and the chair has made that clear repeatedly from the outset of this inquiry.”
Police communications questioned
Jason Beer KC, counsel for the inquiry also highlighted that solicitors for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland had written “a large number” of letters for the attention of Lord Bracadale.
He said: “This isn’t run of the mill correspondence between Police Scotland lawyers and the inquiry’s lawyers – they make representations to you, submissions to you, on an important issue as to the way the inquiry should be run.
“So it’s addressing issues of some substance, the disclosure of evidence that they see is sensitive.
“You’ll see from the last paragraph of the letter to the solicitor it says ‘I shall be pleased to clarify or develop any part of the submission as be thought fit.’
“So it’s clear that Police Scotland thought it was permissible to have a unilateral and private communication to you, that’s not copied to any other core participant, and thought it appropriate for you to act on their unilateral private, to use the pejorative word ’secret’, communications to you.”
The hearing has now concluded and Lord Bracadale will issue his decision at a later date.
What the inquiry has previously heard
Father-of-two Mr Bayoh, died after he was detained and lost consciousness on Hayfield Road by police officers at around 7am on May 3, 2015.
The public inquiry into his death, the actions of police, and whether race was a factor began in Edinburgh in May 2022.
The hearing heard from members of the public who reported seeing Mr Bayoh on the streets of Kirkcaldy with a knife, including a nurse who would go on to treat him in A&E.
He wasn’t carrying the knife when officers arrived at the scene but a violent confrontation followed, with up to six officers restraining the 31-year-old on the ground.
Former police officer Nicole Short told the inquiry she was attacked by Mr Bayoh and believed his death was “unavoidable”.
But nearby residents refuted the claim he had “stomped” on PC Short, with a doctor noting she was not in pain.
The officers were allowed to stay together in the cafeteria of Kirkcaldy police station while family members claim they were given conflicting accounts of events.
