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THE SHIPMAN INQUIRY - BULLETIN NO.2 - 10TH APRIL 2002

Phase 2 - Stage 1 - The Police Investigation of March 1998

Dame Janet Smith announced in the procedural meeting of 21 March that the Inquiry will commence Phase 2 of the Inquiry on Tuesday 7 May 2002 at 11am when opening statements will be heard from interested parties.

Stage 1 will deal with the Police Investigation of March 1998 and a number of witnesses will be called to give evidence. Details of those witnesses the Inquiry intend to call will be posted on the Inquiry's website within the next couple of weeks.

The Inquiry hope to conclude this Stage on or before 19 July.

Interim Report

Dame Janet has advised that her Interim Report will not be available until July. She has said "The work entailed in the individual decisions has been far greater than was envisaged at the outset. In the end, we will have examined more than 800 deaths and the report will contain about 500 individual decisions. Each of these cases has been individually investigated by the team and each of those 500 cases will have a decision which has been written by me personally.

I hope that will give you an impression of the amount of work that has been done and is still being done. It is colossal."

She has advised that a large proportion of this first report had now been written but that much work remains to be done to ensure the highest possible degree of accuracy.

Video Link - Hyde Library

This facility will remain openfor the initial part of Stage 1 of Phase 2. However, attendance will be carefully monitored by the Inquiry and a decision on whether to continue provision of the facility will be made in June.

Sitting Times - Phase 2

The Inquiry will sit as in Phase 1 ie. 10am until 1pm and then from 2pm until a convenient break occurs usually some time around 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. In general, the Inquiry will not sit on Wednesdays. However, if the timetable becomes tight it may be that the Inquiry will sit every day. The timetable will be posted onto the Inquiry's website over the next couple of weeks and anyone wishing to attend should either contact our office or check on the Inquiry website prior to making the journey to the Town Hall to ensure that hearings are being held on that particular day. Please note, the Inquiry will sit Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the first week due to Monday being a Bank Holiday.

Broadcasting - Stage 1

May 7 will be the first day on which the proceedings will be broadcast. Stage 1 will be a pilot project and a protocol has been prepared which the participating broadcasting companies will be required to follow. A copy of this protocol will appear on the Inquiry's website shortly.

A decision has not yet been made as to whether broadcasting will continue at the end of Stage 1.

Phase 2 - Stage 2 - Death & Cremation Certification

The Inquiry hope to commence Stage 2 in late September 2002 although no earlier than 23rd and it is hoped that all witnesses will have been called prior to Christmas. The timetable will be posted onto the Inquiry's website and as in Stage 1 anyone wishing to attend should either contact our office or check on the Inquiry website prior to making the journey to the Town Hall to ensure that hearings are being held on that particular day.

Alexander Harris Public Meeting

We will be holding a further Public Meeting on Tuesday 30 April 2002 at which Counsel together with the Alexander Harris team will be in attendance. Details of the meeting are as follows:- The Victoria Suite, The Village Hotel, Captain Clarke Road, Off Dukinfield Road, Hyde, Cheshire, Tel. 0161 368 1456. The meeting will commence at 7.30pm.

If you believe that you might have a legal claim relating to Shipman Bulletin 2, please complete the online enquiry form or call 0870 024 0558. Your enquiry will be forwarded to a solicitor who specialises in Shipman Bulletin 2.

If you have any comments in relation to Shipman Bulletin 2, please use the online discussion forum.