Hatfield inquests delayed

The Hatfield rail crash claimed four lives

Full inquests into the deaths of four men killed in the Hatfield train crash will not take place until a police investigation is concluded, a coroner has said.

Hertford Coroner Alan Lawson said he needed to wait for at least five months, in case the police pursue murder or manslaughter charges as a result of the 17 October tragedy.

If any person is charged with murder or manslaughter..then I am required to adjourn the inquests until after the conclusion of criminal proceedings

Coroner Alan Lawson

Explaining that criminal proceedings have to be heard before an inquest can take place, he said that British Transport Police had advised him the investigation may last another four or five months.

At the resumed hearing at Hertford Coroner's Court, Mr Lawson adjourned proceedings until 10 April 2001, to be heard at Hertford County Hall, when he said he would review the situation.

Victims

The inquests, which were opened and adjourned last month, heard that pilot Robert Alcorn, 37, a New Zealander living in Bayswater, west London, was identified using a text message found on his mobile phone.

His employer, Steve Arthur, 46, of Pease Pottage, West Sussex, also died on the GNER train, along with Leslie Gray, 43, a solicitor from Tuxford, Nottinghamshire, and marketing executive Peter Monkhouse, 50, from Headingley, Leeds.

Mr Lawson added that he hoped a full list of witnesses likely to be needed for the inquest could be provided.

He said he had written to interested parties - including the Health and Safety Executive, Railtrack, rail contractors Balfour Beatty, and lawyers for Mr Alcorn and Mr Arthur - asking for their views on what evidence would be presented at the inquests.