Shoreham Airshow tragedy: Police accused of trying to 'wriggle away' from scrutiny into their role at 2015 disaster in pre-inquest hearing

Eleven men died after a plane taking part in an aerial display crashed on to the nearby A27 in Sussex on August 22, 2015. Thirteen other people were injured.

Among the victims was 26-year-old Richard Smith, who used to work at a bike shop in Cosham before moving to Hove.

The pilot of the Hawker Hunter plane, Andrew Hill, was charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence but found not guilty on all counts in March 2019. He maintains he has no recollection of the crash.

The inquest into the 11 deaths was originally opened on September 2, 2015 but was adjourned in 2018 due to the criminal trial of Mr Hill.

The inquests resumed in March 2019 following the conclusion of the criminal trial, but hearings set for September 2020 were adjourned due to the pandemic.

A pre-inquest review into the deaths was held at County Hall North in Horsham, Sussex today (Thursday).

Kirsten Heaven, a solicitor representing a number of the victims’ families, claimed Sussex Police is attempting to ‘wriggle away’ from giving evidence about a safety briefing held in the days before the airshow, having only put forward two witnesses.

She said: ‘The families feel like Sussex Police is seeking to wriggle away from a bit of scrutiny over what police involvement was at the time.

‘It does appear to the families that Sussex Police are seeking to wriggle away by offering up someone who isn’t going to be able to answer the questions that the families have.’

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In response, the legal representative for Sussex Police said: ‘We’re not trying to wriggle out of this, those involved were traumatised and for many of them it will be difficult to come to court – that needs to be kept in mind.

‘It’s not unreasonable to say they feel a great sense of reluctance to appear in court but if they are needed they will come.’

Earlier this year the High Court refused West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield’s application to include some of the evidence from the criminal trial of Mr Hill, including a cockpit video of the crash, within the inquest.

The High Court also ruled Ms Schofield should rely on evidence provided by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) rather than reinvestigating the crash.

Ms Schofield said: ‘The factual witness evidence investigated during the forthcoming inquest should only cover matters that fall outside of the AAIB investigation.

‘As the High Court stated, there is no public interest in reinvestigation. Rather the coroner should rely on the submissions of the body with the greatest expertise in that particular area.

‘The remit of my investigation is now defined as the cause of death of each of the deceased, and the planning, organisation, and preparation for the Shoreham Airshow and the aerobatic display in respect of consideration given and any steps taken regarding safeguarding members of the public outside the airshow, including bystanders and users of the A27.’

The full inquest is set to take place from November 7-18, and December 5-16.