Preliminary Hearings in September

The Inquiry is holding preliminary hearings at Church House in London from Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 September. This will be an opportunity for core participants to make opening statements about the issues in the terms of reference which they would like the Inquiry to prioritise.

On Monday 24 September the hearings will start in the early afternoon after a commemoration earlier in the day for the people infected and affected over the past decades. Sir Brian Langstaff, the Chair of the Inquiry, will open the preliminary hearings and then Jenni Richards QC, Counsel to the Inquiry, will make an opening statement on Monday afternoon. They will outline the way in which the Inquiry proposes to carry out its work. Core participants or their legal representatives will then have the opportunity to make opening statements. These statements will continue on Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 September.

The preliminary hearings will be transmitted through the Inquiry website so that people can follow them without travelling to London. However, we expect that many people will wish to attend the hearings for at least some of the time. If you would like to come to Church House, please register your interest by contacting the Inquiry at [email protected].

The Inquiry is currently gathering expressions of interest from people who are infected and affected who would like to give evidence to the Inquiry. The public hearings will begin in the spring with this evidence.

The Inquiry will pay reasonable expenses so that people infected and/or affected can attend these hearings. Guidance on expenses will be published on the Inquiry website.