Judge gives reasons for inquest

Mr Chubb died in 2001

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, said new evidence had persuaded him to order a fresh inquest on a judge who died in a fire in his garden shed.

Judge Andrew Chubb, 58, died at his home near Chard, Somerset, in July 2001, less than an hour after asking his wife, Jennifer, for a divorce.

His mistress, Kerry Sparrow, has been pushing for a re-investigation of the case ever since a first inquest found the death "accidental".

Lord Phillips and Mr Justice Roderick Evans, at the High Court, said a second police investigation has brought to light evidence relevant to the possibility that Judge Chubb might have taken his own life.

Three neighbours of the Chubbs stated that Mrs Chubb had said that her husband had committed suicide, and two other witnesses spoke of being told by Mrs Chubb by telephone that her husband had killed himself.

There is now quite a body of evidence that suggests that the coroner may have been wrong High Court judges

And Paul Cregan, from Yeovil Fire station, made a statement to the coroner in which he said: "I was told by Station Officer Cross that he had learned from the police that the occupants of the property had had an argument, with the male person threatening to commit suicide".

The coroner put this to Mrs Chubb and she said it was "complete rubbish".

A court usher at the Portsmouth Combined Courts Centre - where Judge Chubb was assigned as a circuit judge - had also stated that Judge Chubb had been "missing" at 1420 BST the day before his death.

Another usher told him that the judge had been on the roof, where there was a recreational area, during the lunch hour.

Ms Sparrow said that Judge Chubb had called her at about 1500 to 1600 BST that day and told her he had gone "missing".

'Other thoughts'

When she asked him what he meant he said: "The court clerk had to come and find me. I suppose I was thinking of harming myself".

Mrs Chubb accepted that she had initially assumed her husband had committed suicide, but said that very quickly she began to have other thoughts.

On the evidence at the first inquest, the coroner dismissed the possibility that the stresses of Judge Chubb's matrimonial difficulties might have made him contemplate taking his own life.

"There is now quite a body of evidence that suggests that the coroner may have been wrong about this," said the judges.

The coroner's post-mortem report was also criticised by a Home Office pathologist who said there was no justification for excluding the possibility that Judge Chubb might have died before his body was subjected to the fire.

The second police investigation involved a much more thorough search for eye-witnesses, said the judges.

'Massive explosion'

This produced evidence from a Mr Scott and Mrs Burt, who each spoke of seeing smoke rising from the garage - "significantly before hearing a loud bang, or a loud noise like shattering glass".

Lord Phillips and Mr Justice Evans described in their written judgment how Judge Chubb and his wife had three grown-up children.

For some two years he had carried on an intimate relationship in Portsmouth with Kerry Sparrow.

His wife had learnt of it at the beginning of July 2001 and on 27 July, he had returned home and told his wife he wanted a divorce.

On the day of his death, Mrs Chubb said her husband arrived home about 1930 BST, "went upstairs to change... came down to the kitchen and announced to his wife that he thought they should get a divorce".

He then went out into the garden and Mrs Chubb followed him later on, where she found him in the garage.

She went back into the house and made herself some supper.

Following this there was "a massive explosion" and she saw, through the window, the garage engulfed in flames.