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Justice for Jade and Daniel

30/03/10

Justice for Jade and Daniel

Naeem Siraj, Head of Litigation & Regulatory Services at Burton Burton & Ho LLP, acts on a pro-bono basis for the families of Jade Rice and Daniel Atkinson.

In January 2006, Jade and Daniel were both 17 years old and in the care of Social Services. They were killed when the vehicle they were passengers in, collided with a tree. The vehicle was travelling at a speed in excess of 80 miles an hour in a 40 mile an hour zone when it crashed, causing it to split in two.

The driver, a care worker was unhurt. He was prosecuted for causing death by dangerous driving, but released when the Defence claimed the Police were unable to confirm exactly what speed the car was travelling at when it hit the tree. The Police then obtained an Experts report, which confirmed the speed at impact was at least 62 mile an hour.

The Crown Prosecution Service applied to the courts for a second chance to prosecute the driver but this was refused by a High Court Judge, “in the interest of Justice” as the application was made 1 year later and the CPS could have done its job better the first time round.

At the Inquest into the deaths, the families of the dead children, instructed Naeem Siraj to act on their behalf. The Inquest was the only tribunal to hear all the evidence from eyewitnesses and the expert who prepared the report. The Coroner concluded that the children had been unlawfully killed as the vehicle was travelling at 80 miles an hour in a 40 mile an hour zone, when the driver lost control and collided with the tree.

The family, through Mr Siraj, sought the assistance of the Secretary of State for Justice, The Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions to refer the matter back to court for a prosecution on the basis that there was sufficient evidence for a successful conviction.

The Secretary of State did not bother to respond. The AG decided that it was not in the public interest, and the DPP determined that the courts had already ruled against a further prosecution. In effect, the 3 most senior lawyers in the country decided that it would not be in the public interest to seek justice for Jade and Daniel. The driver who, according to the evidence heard at the Inquest, unlawfully killed the children does not even have a point on his licence and has never been punished for the deaths caused when he lost control of the car.

The families believe that the only interest that is being protected is that of the CPS as it failed in its duty to effectively prepare the case for prosecution, and continues to fail now by seeking to blame the judges for refusing to allow for a further prosecution. However the High court judge who refused permission did so because of the CPS’s negligence.

The families cannot accept that it is not in the public interest to prosecute the driver who unlawfully killed their children. There has been no explanation as to what this alleged public interest is. The DPP has however agreed to meet the families on Friday 16 April to answer their questions. Jade’s mother Elaine Noble has launched a petition calling for justice to be seen to be done for her daughter and Daniel.

BBHO supports this petition and invites all the readers of this publication to log on to www.ipetitions.com/petition/jade1988 and sign the petition.

Thank you                                        

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