In November 2021 our application for a Judicial review against the decision of Westminster Magistrates Court, not to issue a criminal summons against the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson was heard in the High Court.
The application argued that the allegations of a deliberate failure to take reasonable steps to protect children from harm and death in relation to bullying and violence in schools, were capable of crossing the criminal threshold.
It was ultimately decided, that the evidence could not determine one way or the other, whether any failures to investigate were deliberate and as a result, whether or not the alleged misconduct was serious enough to cross the high Criminal threshold. This meant that the application had to be dismissed. The High Court did find though, that on the face of the evidence, no one in Government had ever investigated and ever offered any explanation for failing to do so and that that demonstrated ‘tremendous incompetence’.
The case and the findings of the High court, have now provided a clear basis for the first ever Independent Statutory Public Inquiry of its kind into the harms and deaths. This resulted in an official request to Government in April 2022 and a formal request to around 650 MPs to support the call for that.
This video tells the story of the long road to the call for a Public Inquiry and the failure of Politicians on all sides and outlines the plan to hold Parliament to account, to make sure that lessons can be learned and that all children can be better protected from bullying and violence in the future.