Published: February 2nd, 2012
by RICHARD OSLEY

CAMDEN’S chief coroner is writing to families involved in recent inquests – including relatives of  soul singer Amy Winehouse – to “personally apologise” for problems in the way he recruited his wife to be one of his deputies.

Dr Andrew Reid said there had been an “error in the appointment process” which saw his wife, Suzanne Greenaway, become an assistant deputy coroner at his St Pancras courthouse.

It was confirmed yesterday (Wednesday) that she has resigned after it was revealed she was not fully qualified under UK law for the publicly-paid post.

Ms Greenaway has presided over about 30 inquests since taking the job in 2009, with 12 of them relating to cases in Camden.

Some or all of those hearings could now be held again, depending on what action is taken by people related to those whose deaths were investigated by Ms Greenaway. The verdicts are still considered “legal” but they are open to challenge.

The list of cases handled by Ms Greenaway includes the inquest into Amy Winehouse’s death held last year, which resulted in a “death by misadventure” verdict.

The singer was found dead at her house in Camden Square, Camden Town, last summer. The inquest heard she had drunk a substantial amount of alcohol before her death.

The “error in the appointment process” relates to Ms Greenaway’s qualifications and her failure to meet a requirement of having at least five years experience practising law in the United Kingdom.

She joined the Law Society only two-and-a-half years ago and her experience as a lawyer in her native Australia, where she qualified in 1999, does not count towards the requirements.

She stepped down immediately after the problem was identified for the first time in November and has not overseen any further inquests at St Pancras Coroner’s Court or Poplar Coroner’s Court, where she presided over cases connected to deaths in east London.

Coroners such as Dr Reid interview and recruit their own staff, once they have been appointed themselves by the Ministry of Justice.

Under the rules for hiring his own team, Dr Reid needed to get his appointments approved by Camden Council but the Town Hall stressed yesterday that this is only a “rubber-stamping” role.

Officials said the council was not informed that Ms Greenaway was Dr Reid’s wife when she was appointed, although there is no suggestion that he tried to conceal this fact.

“It is our responsibility to confirm the coroner’s recommendation. We did not know that the recommendation was Dr Reid’s wife,” a Town Hall spokesman said.

Council sources said Ms Greenaway had accepted the post in “good faith” and was not the only person who had been recruited as an assistant deputy coroner to work under Dr Reid at the same period.

His own role in the appointment will, however, be investigated by the Office of Judicial Complaints.

A spokeswoman for the OJC said it had been “made aware of the concerns in relation to the appointment of Ms Suzanne Greenaway as assistant deputy coroner by the Inner North London Coroner and has commenced a conduct investigation”.

Dr Reid, who was off sick for part of this week and not at the courthouse next to St Pancras Gardens to answer calls, said in a statement released yesterday: “I appointed my wife as an assistant deputy coroner as I believed at the time that her experience as a solicitor and barrister in Australia satisfied the requirements of the post.”

He added: “In November of last year it became apparent that I had made an error in the appointment process and I accepted her resignation. While I am confident that all of the inquests handled were done so correctly, I apologise if this matter causes distress to the families and friends of the deceased.

“I will be writing to the families affected to personally apologise and offer for their cases to be reheard if requested.”

Ms Winehouse’s relatives learned of the issues relating to Ms Greenaway’s CV yesterday and said they were “taking advice on the implications of this and will decide if any further discussion with the authorities is needed”.

The office of coroner in the United Kingdom is centuries old and people who have never seen an inquest take place often have little understanding of how the process works. It is nevertheless a significant position with the power to issue warrants for arrest.

St Pancras Coroner’s Court is one of the busiest in the country with hearings held nearly every week to establish the cause of death in cases where people died in suspicious or unusual circumstances.

Dr Reid has taken on high-profile cases, including the death of Saurav Ghai, the two-year-old boy crushed by a wall in Gospel Oak, and Ralph Kennedy, a scaffolder electrocuted on an estate in Somers Town.

Labour community safety chief Councillor Abdul Hai said last night: “I was shocked when I heard about this and we need a thorough investigation to see what went wrong.

“The relatives  may be devastated about this and I can sympathise with them. We need to come up with robust recommendations to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Asked if he would want a new inquest held if somebody he was close to was involved, he said it was “too premature” to answer.

Amy Winehouse – Will there be another inquest?

St Pancras coroner Dr Andrew Reid said he was confident all of the inquests overseen by his wife, Suzanne Greenaway, were carried out correctly. It is up to relatives to press for new hearings if they are unhappy.

Here are some of the inquests she presided over and which were covered by the New Journal.

Amy Winehouse
The award-winning singer, aged 27, was found dead at her house in Camden Square, Camden Town, last July. The inquest saw Ms Greenaway pass a “misadventure” verdict. The packed courtroom was told Amy Winehouse had tried to give up alcohol but had drunk heavily before her death.

Lenny Rodgie
A popular tenants’ leader and epilepsy awareness campaigner from Camden Town, Lenny Rodgie died last January. Ms Greenaway ruled that  death was due to natural causes.

Tom Swain
Photojournalist Tom Swain fell from a four-storey building in King’s Cross last August. He had been  drinking heavily before the tragedy. Ms Greenaway passed a verdict of accidental death.

Anna Wernher
An heiress to a diamond fortune who shunned her family in favour of a quiet life in Highgate, Anna Wernher was found dead on the Holly Lodge Estate.

The 85-year-old’s body was badly decomposed and Ms Greenaway recorded an “open” verdict.

Peter Griffin
This inquest last August found cyclist Peter Griffin was killed in a collision with a rollerblader in Hyde Park. An “accidental death” verdict was recorded.