Lady Dorit Young (centre) with supporters Rosemary Silver and Dr Annabel Bentley at the coroner’s court

THE families of two unconnected women who died unexpectedly have joined together to criticise how the authorities handled investigations into their deaths.

Outside St Pancras Coroner’s Court on Thursday morning, families and friends – including those of Barnsbury woman Gaia Young, who died three years ago aged 25 – held up signs that said the system was “not fit for purpose”.

This was before an inquest into the death of ITV journalist Teresa McMahon, who died in Manchester in August 2021.

The hearing was moved from Manchester to London after an appeal by her aunt, Lorna McMahon, who feared a conflict of interest for coroners in Manchester after she previously complained that the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) failed to properly investigate domestic abuse allega­tions and the possibility of third party involvement in Teresa’s death.

Police had concluded that she took her own life.

Ms McMahon told the Tribune: “I have been campaigning about Teresa’s case for two-and-a-half years now and I’ll keep going until we get to the truth.”

But she has doubts about whether all her questions will be answered at St Pancras.

Ms McMahon was joined outside court on Thursday by Lady Dorit Young, whose otherwise healthy daughter Gaia died in University College London Hospital (UCLH) in 2021, hours after suffer­ing a severe headache.

Ms Young later called Gaia’s inquest – which came to no conclusion about how she died – “flawed” because UCLH was able to select its own expert witnesses, which she felt meant the hospital trust was effectively investiga­ting itself in the case.

Ms McMahon contacted Gaia’s mother after learning that her niece’s inquest would be overseen at the same court.

Ms McMahon is concerned that there could be similar issues in how her niece’s inquest is managed, and said that the single day allocated for Teresa’s inquest was “nowhere near long enough”.

A GMP statement read: “Our thoughts continue to be with Ms McMahon’s family. We remain fully engaged with getting Teresa’s loved ones the answers they deserve through an independent, full and fearless inquiry into her death.”

A UCLH spokesperson said: “We understand this continues to be an extremely sad time for Gaia’s mother and loved ones, and offer our deepest sympathies.

“While the coroner could not say that different care could have prevented Gaia’s death, we do acknowledge some things could have been done better.”