The jury returned conclusions of unlawful killing in the inquests into the deaths of Christine and Lucy Lee, who were murdered by John Lowe in 2014. The jury also found failings with the firearms licensing department of Surrey Police at the time. The jury’s findings reflected the conclusions of independent reports commissioned by Surrey Police in 2014, which indicated the decision by firearms licensing officers to return to John Lowe his shotguns in July 2013 was flawed and did not meet national standards. The case received national press attention, see here.
Alison Hewitt was counsel to the inquests and Jason Beer QC and Bobby Talalay acted for Surrey Police, instructed by Weightmans LLP.