Public inquiry

And I remember at the time, Jennifer Carol McNeill said, sent us all an email kind of being like, it could be this, it could be this, it could be this.

And we were all very adamant, Tribunal of Inquiry.

And now, in all fairness, at the start, we didn't really know the difference.

But Raymond Bradley has done tribunals.

We took a coffee break that was supposed to be, what, 10, 15 minutes.

I think it was over half an hour before they came back.

We reckon at the time they were probably calling the higher ups to get approval and they came back and agreed in principle they would take it to the memo to cabinet for the tribunal of inquiry and so at the time we were like I remember we were a bit perplexed because we were like why was that so easy and we now know that that was so easy because it was a just agree to it here and now we don't have to stick to it but I think we were all very It was mixed emotions.

We were excited.

Yet, despite these concerns, the Lord Advocate upheld his decision based on the evidence available to him.

So in November of 2019, the Scottish Government's Justice Secretary, Hamza Yousaf, announced that an independent public inquiry into Sheku Beyo's death would take place, and not only would they determine the circumstances of his death, but they would make recommendations that hopefully might prevent similar ones in the future.

They would also examine the investigation procedures and whether the events surrounding Sheku's death and the actions of police involved were influenced by his, quote, actual or perceived race.

The inquiry lasted years, and in February of 2025, it was announced that while they would look into the circumstances of his death and if his race played a role that day, they would not investigate why prosecutors decided not to charge anyone potentially responsible.

Buried alive by the National Coal Board." Many believe that the NCB was fully responsible and neglected all warning signs.

The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan disaster was established that year, and its goal was to understand the causes and the circumstances surrounding this disaster.

Seeing that the spoil heap had been placed over a natural spring and there was heavy rain for three weeks, the cause of the disaster was very obvious.

The large amounts of water had caused the spoil to give way.

I'm Marella, your host, and I'm part of the Save Our Sperrins campaign.

And this podcast is following the Curraghinalt Public Inquiry and the proposal for a gold mine in the Sperrins.

If you're new to the podcast and wondering how we got here, I'd suggest going back to podcast number 43, the first in this public inquiry series.

That will give you some of the background before joining us here.

As the c- inquiry continues, I'll be following the evidence and the arguments and trying to make sense of what they could ultimately mean for the people, the water, and the landscapes of the Sperrins.

[upbeat music] We reach the end of the landscape evidence at the public inquiry this week.

And two days ago, I included a short contribution from Dr. Amy Stracker.

Afterwards, Amy went away and did what many of us do when we finally get out of the inquiry room.