Sophie Walker was instructed by Charlotte Andrews and Clara Jenkins at Simpson Millar in an inquest touching on the death of John Perry, who was killed by his adult son.

Legal aid was initially refused on the basis that she was not married or a cohabitant of the deceased and therefore was not eligible for Legal Help under Section 41(3) of Schedule 1 of LASPO, nor for ECF under S10(6).

Sophie advising bringing a Judicial Review of the refusal for grant Legal Aid arguing that Section 10(3) of LASPO required the LAA to provide funding to avoid a breach of the HRA. It was also argued that as the inquest engaged the substantive obligations under Article 2, the refusal of funding was a breach of Article 2 in conjunction with Article 14 as our client was being subjected to less favourable treatment than the class of family members who are eligible for legal aid.

The Legal Aid Agency granted an ECF certificate for the inquest, which is listed to take place in November 2026.